September 03, 2007	Monday	Sha'aban 20, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Sept 2: Clean drinking water is a gift of life. But not for the residents of the capital city who are drinking highly contaminated water, as proved in a new report prepared by the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).

The report shows that bacterial contamination in the federal capital’s water supply in 2006 increased to an alarming 74 per cent compared to 48 per cent in 2005.

Bacterial contamination, a major cause of water-borne diseases especially diarrhoea, was 65 per cent in 2004, 40 per cent in 2003 and 74 per cent in 2002.

The report, which will become a public document after being printed in about 10 days, is the result of a five-year survey that analysed quality and levels of contamination in the country’s water supply. It also makes comparisons with surveys from sites under study by the PCRWR.

In Islamabad, 27 samples were taken from sites under study - 19 from various tubewells, two from water supply sources, one from cistern systems (water tanks), one from reservoir, one from boring and three samples from taps in homes.

Out of these 27 samples, 26 per cent proved safe for human consumption while 74 per cent tested positive for micro-organism (bacteria) contamination.

According to the PCRWR, the cause seems to lie not at the source, the Simli Dam where proper chlorination is done to kill micro-organisms.

“Broken water supply pipelines or leakages are the major causes,” PCRWR Chairman Dr Mohammad Akram Kahlown said.

“Islamabad’s water supply is intermittent. And every time the supply is stopped negative pressure builds up that sucks in dirt and other material through these leakages or openings in the pipes. Micro-organisms gush into cistern systems or water tanks in houses every time the supply is resumed,” he said.

Dr Kahlown said over 80 per cent samples collected all over the country in the past five years contained bacteria.

In certain cities like Bahawalpur and Loralai, drawing water from taps was like taking it from a swamp, said Mr Kahlown. “It is simply mismanagement. A lot of water contamination problems can be solved if proper chlorination is done by water supply authorities,” he added.

The chairman said PCRWR was surveying some 15,500 water supply schemes across the country.

“We are determining reasons for deterioration in water supply to towns and cities. Technical assessments of some 6,000 water supply schemes have been completed.

“The findings are not very pleasing. Almost 60 per cent water supply schemes in the Punjab are out of order and nearly 40 per cent in Sindh are not functioning,” Mr Kahlown said expressing his concern.

While Islamabad drinks bad water, the commodity’s quality seems to have improved in Rawalpindi where bacterial contamination has been reduced to 53 per cent in 2006 compared to the 87 per cent in 2002, the report highlights.

According to the report, bacterial contamination in Quetta has gone up to 71 per cent in 2006 from 50 per cent in 2002; Hyderabad from 73 per cent in 2002 to 93 per cent in 2006; Gujranwala from 29 per cent in 2002 to 64 per cent in 2006; and Ziarat, where Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent his last days, bacterial contamination remained 100 per cent from 2002 to 2006.

Another PCRWR official said places like the Quaid-i-Azam University and Polyclinic hostel had their own tubewells that were also contaminated.

“Besides leakages in supply lines, dirty water tanks in houses are other major causes of water-borne diseases. It is imperative that people get them cleaned every two or three months,” he said.

Established in 1964, the PCRWR now maintains one of the best water testing laboratories in South Asia, the official said, adding that: “Our job is to check water quality. And once a problem is identified, we provide the best low-cost solutions to solve them.”