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| May 14, 2002 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1423 |
Contaminated water supplied to consumers: report
RAWALPINDI, May 13: A large part of the city is experiencing water shortage and those who are enjoying this luxury are being supplied water contaminated with drug resistant bacteria, official record of the health department showed.
The reports are based on tests conducted by National Institute of Health’s public health laboratories division on water samples collected both before and after filtration at Rawal Lake Filtration Plant.
All the six samples tested for microbial impurities were found to be heavily contaminated. Interestingly, the findings revealed that the water collected after filtration and chlorination had no chlorine in it, which meant that the water was not being chlorinated at the plant.
The sources said absence of chlorination was the main cause for Coliform contamination, since the bacteria could not be removed through filtration only.
Dr Abbas Hayat, associate professor, Holy Family Hospital, said the source of contamination was presence of large number of poultry farms along the catchment area and mixing of sewerage from Bani Gala in the lake water.
The catchment area of Rawal Lake comprises numerous tributaries from Murree Hills. Some of the natural streams of Margalla Hills also fall into the lake.
He said the Coliform found in Rawal Lake was multiple-drug resistant. The diseases caused by contaminated water were typhoid, cholera, enterric fever, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.
District Health Officer Dr Shoaib Khan confirmed that the surveillance reports suggested an increase in incidence of water- borne diseases particularly diarrhoea.
Sub-Divisional Officer Rawal Lake Chaudhry Bashir said: “Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) was responsible for de- contamination and as far as my section was concerned I could supply only what was available in the pond.”
Malik Akram of Wasa, in his comment on the report, said the agency had been conducting tests on its own and there were occasional reports of contamination. He, however, denied that the water was not being chlorinated.
Mr Akram said Wasa was not entirely responsible for the situation and the consumers were also to blame for not keeping their overhead tanks clean.
It has been a major challenge for the local civic agencies to supply safe drinking water to the residents for quite sometime.
Other studies conducted on the quality of water, including one by National University of Science and Technology, had revealed heavy contamination by microbial contents and presence of nitrates, chlorides and sulphates. The studies had declared it unfit for human consumption.
The city’s underground water contamination has been attributed to Nullah Leh that passes through most part of the city.
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