Saline water woes: Innovative projects transform coastal lives
Highlights
• World Vision Bangladesh, an international organisation, is behind the projects
• It has recently installed a "Pipeline Water Supply System" in a Rampal village to provide fresh water
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• Usually, each family has to spend Tk40-50 on water per month
Purnima Sarker's family of five needs a minimum of 15 litres of drinking water daily. It used to take about two hours to fetch water from a distance of around four miles. Despite their efforts, the water quality was subpar.
"Due to the difficulty of collecting water from far away, sometimes we had to drink brackish water from the tube well at home," said Purnima, a villager in the Bagerhat coastal district.
But the problem is now a thing of the past.
Purnima Sarker resides in Sholarkola village under Kachua upazila, where her husband works as a farmer. The prevalence of saltwater in the area significantly complicates the lives of the residents. Additionally, groundwater is often salty, and arsenic contamination is found in water sources in some locations.
Amidst these challenges, a "solar-powered pond sand filter" plant, or PSF, has been set up to provide drinking water in Goualmath village, adjacent to Purnima's village.
Here, raw water from a large pond is pumped through a solar-powered motor and supplied after undergoing six levels of purification. Now, at the PSF plant where Purnima Sarker obtains water, the price per pitcher is only Tk1. The family spends about Tk40-50 on water per month.
"The cost of this water is much less compared to the money we used to spend on treatment for gastric problems and dysentery. Now, all those diseases are solved, and we can access water within 15-20 minutes," she told The Business Standard.
Shikha Rani Baiti, who came to collect water at the plant, expressed similar sentiments.
"Now, as mothers, we no longer face the physical complications we did before. We are somewhat relieved from waterborne diseases. With access to proper drinking water, children are born and grow up strong and disease-free," she said.
More than 30,000 people from 25 villages of Raripara Union under Kachua Upazila, along with three other unions, have now overcome the water problem in the way Purnima Sarker and Shikha Rani have. Freshwater is now being provided to these individuals in this saline-prone area. This PSF was established in 2016 and supported by World Vision Bangladesh, a reputed organisation.
Not only have the people of the village benefited, but about 15 individuals have also earned their livelihood by extracting water from this treatment plant and supplying it to other households. These individuals are locally known as "water traders."
The traders earn approximately Tk15,000-20,000 per month, which supports their families. Additionally, the freshwater is utilised by students and teachers at eight educational institutions situated close to this project. Moreover, this water is utilised in shops, restaurants and markets in a nearby bazaar.
In addition to the pond sand filter, World Vision Bangladesh has recently installed a "Pipeline Water Supply System" in Pipulbunia village of Rampal upazila in Bagerhat to provide fresh water.
Freshwater is pumped from a depth of about 1,300 feet by an electric motor and stored in a central water tank. From there, it is distributed to villages within a radius of two and a half square kilometres through separate water points.
During a visit to the area, TBS observed that water was being supplied to eight villages, including Kadirkhola, Sultania, Pipulbunia, and Jaynagar of Rampal union, through an underground pipeline from the tank located in Pipulbunia.
Approximately 500 families from these villages regularly obtain water from these water points for drinking, household chores, cattle feeding, poultry and farming activities. The installation of this deep-tube well was made possible through the contributions and active participation of the members of the community.
Sudipta Mistry of Pipulbunia village said, "The work of water supply is usually carried out by the women of these villages. Before this project was launched, fresh water had to be collected from a distance of about 5 km, and women used to suffer greatly. People from other areas were reluctant to marry their daughters off in this area, fearing that every day she would have to fetch water from afar."
Now there is a water point management committee in place to oversee this deep tube well and water supply system. The general secretary of the committee, Pratul Roy, said, "As a result of this project, there is no more water crisis in these areas. I have no words to express my gratitude to World Vision Bangladesh."
Raju William Rozario, deputy director of World Vision Bangladesh, highlighted the fact that the biggest problem faced by people in the southern part of Bangladesh is the lack of clean and fresh water due to salinity, which has a dire impact on their lives, livelihoods, and public health.
In cooperation with Proctor and Gamble, World Vision provided water purifier powder to some areas as a temporary solution, he said, adding, "Later, we took the initiative to coordinate with donors and the government to install sustainable water options to meet the community's needs."
World Vision installed electric pump-run four-deep tube wells and eight pond sand filters in Kachua and Rampal upazillas of Bagerhat under its project.
Imran Hossain, deputy assistant engineer of the Department of Public Health and Engineering in Bagerhat's Rampal Upazila, remarked, "The government's budget for supplying fresh water to the people in the area is not adequate compared to the people's demand." He further stated that NGOs are collaborating with the government, resulting in an increase in the coverage of fresh water, making it possible to provide this service to more people.
