Khulna water crisis will be over in a yr

The construction of a Tk 2,558 crore water treatment plant, which will ensure safe drinking water for the 1.6 million residents of Khulna city, is expected to be ready within mid-2018, officials say.

Aiming to tackle the severe water shortage in the city, the government undertook the project through Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) in July 2011.

Under the “Khulna Water Supply Project”, which is funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and Asian Development Bank, a treatment plant and a large reservoir are being built.

The overhead water reservoir under the project.

The plant is capable of treating 11 crore litres of water daily, while the reservoir can hold 7.75 lakh cubic metres.

Deputy Managing Director of Khulna Wasa Kamaluddin Ahmed said around 80 percent work of the project has already been completed, and the rest will be finished by June 2018. Once the treatment starts operation, the city dwellers will have enough supply of water for drinking and domestic use, he said.

Khulna is chronically plagued by shortages of water due to groundwater depletion and salinity.

A 650km network of pipelines is being installed to draw water from the Madhumati river near Mollahat Bridge in Bagerhat to the main reservoir in Samontosena village under Rupsha upazila of Khulna. The water will be brought to the treatment plant located near the main reservoir for purification.

From the treatment plant, water will be transferred to the large reservoir and thence to 10 large overhead tanks and seven small tanks in the city through a 5km network of pipelines.

Salim Ahmed, manager of the project, said Khulna Wasa now provides 11 crore litres of water to the city dwellers daily, whereas the demand is 24 crore litres, more than double the current supply.

To meet the demand, the Khulna City Corporation has handed over its 10,000 production tube wells to Wasa, through which 24 lakh litres of water is being added to the current supply.

The Khulna Wasa DMD said though the plant will increase the daily production to 22.24 crore litres, still short of the demand of 24 crore litres, it will be enough for the city residents.

Dilip Kumar Dutta, professor of environmental science at Khulna University, said, “Now is the appropriate time to use surface water because we are destroying our underground sources. In this respect, the project of Khulna Wasa is appreciable.”