KARACHI, Aug 19: Speakers at a workshop on Monday stressed the need for a political commitment to bring improvement in the quality of water for potable use.

They were of the view that water and sanitation were two important sectors which usually remained on a very low priority of governments, particularly in the developing countries.

The greater water is disinfected the more were the chances of freeing human health from water-borne chemical toxicity and microbial problems, they maintained.

The three-day workshop, entitled “Water Disinfection and Action Plan During Emergencies”, has been organized by Karachi University’s Institute of Environmental Studies, the Ministry of Health, Islamabad, and the WHO.

The programme was inaugurated by KU vice-chancellor Dr Zafar Saied Saify on the campus, and was attended by a number of scientists, planners and water experts from the province.

De Saify emphasized the role of water in human health and economy of the country and suggested that universities working in the water sector should develop a linkage with each other in order to share their experiences and develop maximum options for improving the quality of water in different parts of the country.

He informed the participants that the KU had entered into an agreement regarding development of a linkage with the Glasgow University in the filed of coastal environment.

He said the KWSB had also adopted a waste water treatment technology developed at the Institute of Environmental Studies for the treatment of 54 million gallons waste water daily at Mauripur.

A technical officer at WHO, Dr Amir Elahi Johri, highlighted his organization’s programme on water and health. Dean, KU faculty of science, Dr Ronaq Raza Naqvi, also spoke.

During a technical session, the director of IES, Dr M. Altaf Khan, said the government should spend more in the water sector and ensure further improvement in the quality of water.

He observed that while water in the urban areas was infected because of contamination during its transmission, the rural population was exposed to health hazards caused due to pollution at source, including ponds, rivers and other channels.

He said water and sanitation sector was one of the most important sectors for a sustainable development and, therefore, there was a need for investing a significant amount of money in these sectors. “A government that gives priority to investment on water will end up with better productivity and more stable economy,” he observed.

Other speakers suggested that adequate use of chemical agents, including chlorine, could help a lot to prevent the piped water from getting diseases. He said there was a need for chlorine boosters in the city at least at a distance of every 5-6 kilometres, as the existing system for chlorination of water was not helpful in providing a safe drinking water to the end-users at a distance of 15-20km.

It was said that since water lines in the cities were old and were running close to sewerage lines, there were chances of mixing of pathogenic microorganism with the water, causing gastrointestinal diseases.