Wasa water stinks

For the past two weeks, Siddiqur Rahman, a resident of Shantibagh in Dhaka, has been receiving water from Dhaka Wasa infested with insects and accompanied by a strong stench.

Despite cleaning his household water tank twice within one and a half months, the problem has not gone away.

Echoing similar concerns, Jahirul Islam from Gandaria said, "Whenever water comes through our line, it's yellowish at first and has a strong odour. Even after boiling it, it's hard to drink."

The issue is not limited to the southern part of the city. Residents in the north have also reported foul-smelling water containing insects.

Rezaul Hasan from the 60 Feet area in Agargaon said, "Since early March, the water quality has been terrible. Submitting complaints to Wasa hasn't helped. Instead, they told us to use a fine cloth filter at the tap and clean our water tanks."

Residents from various areas -- including Tejgaon, Malibagh, Moghbazar, Madhubagh, Basabo, Maniknagar, Jurain, Kalyanpur, Khilgaon, Tilpapara, and Tarabagh -- have reported similar experiences since February.

During summer, demand is high, but there's no water supply for most of the day. We only get water for about two hours a day -- and it's undrinkable. It smells bad and contains sewage and insects. Authorities have been informed, but nothing has changed.

— Mizanur Rahman A resident of East Jurain

Several Wasa officials admitted that insects have been found in the water supplied to certain areas in the capital. They suspect that the issue may originate from the water processed at the Sayedabad Water Treatment Plant.

An official, requesting anonymity, said an investigation is underway to determine if there is an issue at the treatment plant.

However, Dhaka Wasa has not officially accepted responsibility. The state-run agency claims the water is of standard quality when it leaves their facilities.

According to them, poor maintenance of household reserves and overhead tanks is the reason for the presence of small organisms. Wasa insists that if consumers clean their tanks regularly, such contamination would not occur, placing the blame on consumers.

Contacted, Shahjahan Mia, the newly appointed managing director of Dhaka Wasa, told The Daily Star, "There's usually no issue in the pipeline from where WASA produces and supplies water up to the customer's line. In many cases, the foul smell in the water comes from customers not cleaning their underground water tanks regularly. I can say that we're currently receiving very few complaints."

"However, if anyone reports a problem directly to us, we send our people to take necessary action," he added.

Mizanur Rahman, a citizen rights activist and resident of East Jurain, said despite new pipelines in his area, the water problems remain.

"During summer, demand is high, but there's no water supply for most of the day. We only get water for about two hours a day -- and it's undrinkable. It smells bad and contains sewage and insects. Authorities have been informed, but nothing has changed," he said.

Public health expert Dr MH Choudhury Lenin described the presence of foul odour and insects in Wasa-supplied water as deeply concerning.

Talking to The Daily Star, he warned, "We're already seeing a rise in waterborne diseases in Dhaka. Contaminated water increases the risk of typhoid, paratyphoid, and diarrhoea. If not resolved soon, this issue could lead to an epidemic."

"Wasa has shown repeated negligence regarding water supply issues over the years. I hope this time they take it seriously and solve the problem," he added.