KARACHI: One third of city population getting untreated water
By Azizullah Sharif
KARACHI, May 19: Almost one third of the city’s population is being supplied untreated water from the Indus River. Experts concur that the consumption of untreated water causes such water-borne diseases as gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and typhoid, besides affecting the nervous system of the elderly and causing mental disorders among children.
In addition to this, over 40 per cent of the city’s population living in katchi abadis is also vulnerable to water-borne diseases because of a lack of basic facilities, such as piped water and a sewerage system.
People residing in water-deficient pockets of the city, who usually depend on water tankers, are also exposed to serious health hazards as most of the private tankers fetch water from unhygienic sources, especially private wells situated on both sides of the Lyari and Malir rivers.
The untreated water, according to doctors, contains heavy metals including mercury, lead and even arsenic, and its consumption for a long time can have a negative effect on human health.
Confirming these findings, eminent pathologist and head of the Dow University of Health Sciences’ Pathology Department, Prof Sirajuddaula Syed, said: “In fact, we had suggested setting up of filter plants in all towns of the city to the former city nazim, Niamatullah Khan. He had even convinced the prime minister about our proposal. But I am not aware of what happened then.”
The city, at present, is being supplied 629 million gallons of water per day -- 100 mgd from the Hub dam source and remaining 529 from the distant source of the Indus River. However, of the total 629 mgd, hardly 445 mgd of water is being treated at the KWSB’s seven filter plants, while the remaining 184 mgd of water is neither disinfected nor chlorinated before being supplied to consumers.
All the filter plants, except for the Hub pumping station, are operating much below their optimum designed capacity as two of them are 50 to 60 years old while the other four were also installed more than 30 to 40 years back.
For instance, Gharo pump house (old) filter plant was set up in 1943, Gharo (new) filter plant in 1953, COD Hills filter plants in 1962 and 1971, Pipri (old) filter plant in 1971 and the NEK (old) filter plant in 1978.
“How strange is it that although the 100 mgd K-III project had already been completed and commissioned, the KWSB officials neither included the provision of filter plants in the project’s original plan and the revised PC-1 to ensure the process of disinfecting and chlorinating water before supplying it to the citizens,” a concerned citizen remarked.
