Residents say water supply contaminated by sewage

Residents say water smells foul, contains sewage particles, water board blames illegal connections, thieves.

KARACHI: Residents in several towns of the city are complaining of contaminated water supply.

Orangi Town resident Kashif told The Express Tribune that residents in his area, including his family, prefer using soil water (dug up from the earth) rather than the drinking water that is supplied to them by the Karachi water board. “Soil water might taste a bit salty but at least it does not stink,” he said.

Residents in Baldia, Keamari, SITE, Korangi, Bin Qasim, Landhi and Lyari have similar complaints.

They said the water they are receiving smells foul and even worse, contains sewage particles.

Even after washing out and emptying their underground and rooftop water tanks, the problem persists.

First they tried boiling the water before using it in cooking and for other purposes and then they started to add water-purifying tablets to kill the bacteria and make the water safe for drinking.  However, the quality of water continued to deteriorate. The problem is more severe in areas in the vicinity of the cattle colony and Chakra Goth.

A well-placed engineer in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) told The Express Tribune that the water provided by the board met all quality standards of the World Health Organisation.

The problem, he said, lies with the water line system, which is in bad shape. KWSB can only ensure replacement of bulk water supply lines-it is the consumers’ responsibility to get their own lines replaced and fixed.

For this all they have to do is to contact the KWSB chief engineer in their area and inform them of the problem. The water board then gets permission from their town municipal administration for road digging and cutting. Rates are charged per square yard but the cost is somewhat less if the water board is asked to help.

Meanwhile, the KWSB additional vice chairman, Rehan Zafar, thinks it is water theft that is creating this problem of contamination.

He said residents of spatial settlements and highly-congested residential colonies, as well as illegal water hydrant operators, have obtained illegal water connections from water lines, which lie next to sewage drains.

Water is stolen through the injection system which damages the water lines and leads to contamination of the otherwise pure KWSB water.

The problem could only be addressed by laying new lines for the most affected areas, Zafar said.

KWSB has already started disconnecting lines that have been tampered with and an eight-inch diameter new line for SITE, Baldia, Keamari and coastal islands has already been laid.

Zafar maintained that the water board should not be held solely responsible for a problem that should be dealt with by the police, who have yet to act against men accused of water theft.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2010.