The Daily Star  Volume 3 Number 902        Thu. March 21, 2002 

      'Develop surface water as main source of drinking water'



      Staff Correspondent


      Should policymakers still consider groundwater as the main source of safe 
      drinking water and spend money on it? 

      Researchers say over Tk 15,000 crore loan money have been spent in the 
      last 30 years for extraction of groundwater and research to make it safe. 
      But far from being safe, newer hazards from groundwater are coming to 
      light.

      They suggest development of surface water as the main source of drinking 
      water because the country has the highest per capita availability of 
      surface water in the world and the process would be less costy.
      They were speaking at a press conference at the Dhaka Community Hospital 
      (DCH) in the city yesterday.

      Prof Quazi Quamruzzaman, Chairman of Dhaka Community Hospital Trust, said, 
      "Until now we knew of arsenic in tubewell water. But from a Daily Star 
      news we came to know that equally harmful elements like uranium, boron, 
      selenium, manganese and other metals also exist in tubewell water.

      "In view of this new threat, I want to know from policymakers and donors 
      why should we still go ahead digging fresh tubewells knowing that there is 
      poison in their water?

      He referred to the news item headlined "Drinking death in groundwater", 
      published in The Daily Star on February 20. 

      "We want to know what benefit we got from investing such huge amounts of 
      loan money. How much money has been properly utilised and how much wasted?"
      He said, "We tried to find out from donors how much money they spent in 
      Bangladesh for groundwater extraction and research. But none could give us 
      statistics. We then prepared an estimated figure.

      "Taking groundwater would mean more diseases in future", he said.
      Prof Mahmudur Rahman, Coordinator of DCH, said, "Bangladesh has the 
      highest amount of per capita surface water in the world. But despite that, 
      policies forced us to extract groundwater which is a source of poison."
      He said, the Department of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE) has yearly 
      plans for sinking deep tubewells. But as per tests, water supplied in 28 
      municipalities are contaminated with arsenic, some having levels beyond 
      the WHO-recommended safety limit."

      He said it is less costly to develop surface water as the main resource of 
      drinking water. 

      Many countries having abundant surface water have policies for very 
      limited use of groundwater. But in Bangladesh, more emphasis is given on 
      groundwater, he said.

      "We strongly urge the policymakers to wake up and stop continued 
      extraction of groundwater. It is time that we should shift to better 
      management of surface water," Prof Rahman said.