35 per cent water sources in capital supplying unsafe water

Islamabad : The water quality assessment of 224 operational water sources of Islamabad revealed that 146 (65 per cent) operational water sources of the capital city are supplying safe drinking water whereas 78 sources (35 per cent) are supplying unsafe water due to wide spread microbial contamination.

The recent water quality assessment of Islamabad was conducted in September 2018, by Pakistan Council of Research on Water Resources (PCRWR) in order to assist Ministry of Interior in furnishing detailed work plan and recommendations for supply of safe drinking water for Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

For this purpose, the Metropolitan Corporation, Islamabad (MCI) provided a list of 316 water sources of Islamabad, out of which 224 (71 per cent) were operational and were assessed by PCRWR for water quality status.

These sources included 200 tube wells, out of which 131 were operational and assessed for water quality. The analytical findings compared with National Standards for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) revealed that 101 (77 per cent) of tube wells were supplying safe drinking water, whereas 30 (23 per cent) were supplying unsafe drinking water.

The water quality assessment of 43 (67 per cent) operational water supply schemes indicated supply of safe drinking water from 9 (21 per cent) and unsafe water from 34 (79 per cent). Moreover, the water quality assessment of 13 water works and reservoirs showed supply of safe water from 9 (69 per cent) sources and unsafe water from remaining 4 (31 per cent). An assessment of 37 operational water filtration plants showed supply of safe water from 27 (73 per cent) and unsafe from 10 (27 per cent) plants.

The report says that in Islamabad, the main sources of domestic water supply are, the reservoirs built at Simly and Khanpur, many tube wells, and few springs located at Saidpur, Nurpur and Shahdra-hills. About 2,001,579 inhabitants of Islamabad receive some or all of their drinking water from these sources. The conventional treatment methods such as coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and chlorination are used for the treatment of Simly and Khanpur reservoirs water to make it potable.

Filtration plants serve drinking water to large urban areas and small rural communities and thus are a vital part of MCI’s infrastructure; not only they represent an essential service to general public, people also believe that water they collect from filtration plants is safe. Sustainable supply of safe drinking water through these water filtration plants is a challenge as the efficacy of providing safe drinking water from these plants is dependent not only on financial resources but also on technical capacity of plant operators for operation, regular maintenance and basic water testing.

The filtration plants found with microbiological contamination are located in G-7/4, near OHT; G-10/3, Opp. H. No. 401, 402, Ibn-e-Sina Road; G-6/1-2, near Overhead Tank, St.#40; I-10/1 - green belt, Opp. street no. 53; G-6 Bazaar; Bari Imam Complex; I-10/4 - near Ameer Market; G-9/2, Jahangir Market; G-10/4, I&T Centre and G-7/2, near Ali Masjid.

Access to safe drinking water in Pakistan is one of the major public health concerns, as the country is facing the water quality and quantity deterioration evidenced in various research studies. The assessment report says that the national level monitoring investigations (2002 to 2015) carried out by PCRWR revealed that 15 per cent and 18 per cent of the sources are supplying safe drinking water in urban and rural areas respectively. These studies have also identified the prevalence of four major water quality contaminants including biological contamination (68 per cent), arsenic (24 per cent), nitrate (13 per cent) and fluoride (5 per cent). Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoan parasites are among the most common and widespread health risk of drinking water.

It has been estimated that 20-40 per cent of beds in Pakistani hospitals are occupied by patients suffering from waterborne diseases, including cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A and E, typhoid.

An improper disposal of municipal, industrial and hospital solid waste and waste water, excessive use of agricultural chemicals, agricultural run-offs, poor management of farm wastes and, leakages from septic tanks are the foremost water pollution sources. The detrimental effects of outdated water supply infrastructure, breakage in distribution system, unprotected water sources, intermittent water supply, lack of operation and maintenance plans of water filtration plants, inadequate technical capacity of water supply agencies and lack of awareness on quality issues are the main challenges in sustainable supply of safe drinking water.

The report recommends use of disinfection; source protection and maintenance of hygienic conditions at the sites of water sources; timely replacements and maintenance of water treatment components of filtration plants, development of water quality protection framework: water storages at the source and at the consumer residences; systematic efforts for the sustainable supply of safe drinking water and establishment of a strong partnership between various stakeholders, residents of Islamabad, consumers forums and advocacy groups and the MCI.