WB-funded study finds water of Dhaka rivers unusable

Pollution is so severe in the Buriganga, Shitalakkhya, Dhaleshwari, Turag Bongshi and Balu rivers that it is almost impossible to treat the water and make it suitable for humans, the study says. A study conducted by Wasa claims that the water quality of six rivers around Dhaka has been polluted to the extent that they are unusable for humans, aquatic lives and industry. The study, titled “An Analytical Study of the Pollution Profile of the Major Rivers around Dhaka City” was conducted by Plasma Plus Application and Research Laboratory on behalf of Dhaka Wasa and financed by the World Bank. Amir H Khan, leader of the study team, said: “The current state of water quality of the surrounding rivers of Dhaka is the ultimate result of extreme pollution. “The government should take appropriate measures to check the pollution urgently, otherwise it will be tough to meet the growing demand of capital’s rising population.” Pollution is so severe in the Buriganga, Shitalakkhya, Dhaleshwari, Turag Bongshi and Balu rivers that it is almost impossible to treat the water and make it suitable for humans, the study says. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) are the majors among the 12 parameters of water quality measurement of any surface water. Both of these parameters in the six rivers are far away from the acceptable level. For instance, Department of Environment (DoE) sets the standard level of DO in the water as 6 mg/litre but none of the six river’s water ever came close to the standard during the entire study period. In case of BOD, all of the rivers’ water shows the level above 2mg/litre, the maximum level for potable water. The findings of the study were presented at a seminar at CIRDAP auditorium on Sunday. Dhaka Wasa is responsible for supplying safe drinking water for the capital’s 17m residents. Against the daily demand of 250-300 crore liters of water in Dhaka city, 78% is supplied by extracting groundwater while the remaining 22% is supplied after treating the water of the surrounding rivers.

Read more: http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/environment/2016/12/04/water-dhaka-rivers-unusable/

Posted by admin on Dec 7 2016. Filed under Bangladesh Exclusive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry