Filtration plants supply muddy water

Residents complain plants deliver potentially unsafe water due to overdue filter replacement

RAWALPINDI:

Water filtration plants installed across various parts of the city are supplying muddy and potentially unsafe drinking water as their filters have remained unchanged for an extended period.

Despite repeated complaints from residents, no effective action has been taken, raising concerns that facilities established to provide clean drinking water are instead becoming potential sources of waterborne diseases.

Filtration plants in Union Council 46, Naya Mohalla, Sadiqabad, Dhoke Ilahi Bakhsh and Dhoke Hasu have received numerous complaints, with residents reporting that the plants are supplying water mixed with soil.

Operators of the filtration plants said their filters had not been replaced for a considerable period because of a lack of funds. They said the failure to replace the filters had affected water quality. They added the tube-wells supplying these plants had experienced a decline in groundwater levels, causing soil to mix with the water.

Sources said the tube-wells installed across Rawalpindi by the Municipal Corporation, WASA and District Council before 2000 had also experienced declining water levels. While groundwater levels had not fallen significantly until 2000, they have dropped by more than 200 feet between 2001 and 2026, according to the sources

As a result, old tube-wells are supplying water mixed with soil, while filtration plants connected to them are also providing water of questionable quality because of declining groundwater levels and overdue filter replacement.

Residents Iftikharuddin, Fayyaz Shah, Farhan Hamid and Fayyaz said they had laboratory-tested the water and found it to be highly harmful. Complaints had also been lodged with the Pak Ab Authority, but no action had been taken.

 

 

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PSPA takes over 130 filtration plants

 

OUR CORRESPONDENT

RAWALPINDI. The Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has formally transferred administrative control of 130 water filtration plants across the city to the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority (PSPA).

The authority, which previously operated under Punjab's Housing Ministry, will now function under the Punjab Local Government Department and will be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of 130 filtration plants, which are attached to tube wells.

Rawalpindi WASA Managing Director Azizullah Khan confirmed the development and said the agency was currently focusing its attention on the Chahan Dam and Dadhocha Dam water-supply projects

He said WASA was also working to install 15 tube wells along the Expressway after reaching an agreement with the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

Khan further said the Chahan Dam water-supply project was expected to be completed in 2027 and would provide an additional 17 million gallons of water per day.

The Dadhocha Dam water-supply project, which is expected to provide an additional 35 million gallons of water per day to the city and cantonment areas, is scheduled for completion in 2029.