Taps run dry in Dhaka as recurring power cuts cripple water supply

Water pumps lie idle during the hour-long power cuts, which now occur with greater frequency, disrupting life in much of the city

Obaidur Masumbdnews24.com
Published : 11 Oct 2022, 05:43 AM
Updated : 11 Oct 2022, 05:43 AM

For large parts of the day, life in much of Dhaka is punctuated by a string of power outages leaving residents faced with unrelenting heat and other hardships in the lurch.

To make matters worse, the revival of the dreaded load-shedding regime, borne out of an escalating energy crisis globally, has had a crippling effect on the water supply to large swathes of the city, hampering daily chores such as cooking, cleaning and bathing

Many pumps operated by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, or WASA, and those in the residential and commercial buildings are rendered inoperative during the hour-long power cuts that now occur up to six times a day.

All of WASA's pumps are meant to run 24 hours a day, provided the power supply is uninterrupted.

Even if there is water in the supply line, without electricity, it cannot be pumped up to the rooftop tanks. In some buildings, the owners also use their own pumps to draw water from the lines.

  • Frequent power outages have disrupted water supply to much of the city

  • The situation has worsened since a national grid failure on Oct 4

  • WASA has deployed more than 900 water pumps across the city. But the pumps cannot operate without electricity, becoming inactive during power outages

  • Water production has also decreased since the introduction of power rationing amid a global energy crisis

Frustrations have been running high over the situation across the city. On Sunday, aggrieved residents of Mohakhali took to the streets in protest against a worsening water crisis in their neighbourhood.

Others have little choice but to soldier on as their complaints came to no avail.

Through its Maintenance, Operation and Distribution System (MODS), WASA supplies water to different parts of the city, divided into 11 zones, using more than 900 pumps, including 60 kept as backups.

Some pumps are accompanied by diesel-run backup electricity generators, but WASA could not provide their exact number.

Abdullah Al Mamun, a landlord in South Donia, said the area is left without power for at least five hours every day.

“Our area was already facing a water crisis. Water comes to our area through a pump next to AK High School and College. But the pump stops whenever there's a power cut as there is no generator.

"As a result, the water does not enter the line. Again, even if the water comes into the line, it cannot be drawn if there is no electricity. We are in great misery.”

A water crisis has been plaguing the capital's Kaderabad housing area for quite some time now.

Since the national grid failure plunged half of the nation into darkness for a significant period on Oct 4, power outages have intensified in the neighbourhood, and so has the water crisis, according to Moushumi Acharya, a resident.

"The water supply stops for five to six hours a day. Water cannot be extracted without pulling it from the WASA line. As a result, the supply stops if the motor is not running. Even if we order water from WASA's tankers during emergencies, that cannot be added to the reservoir because they [WASA workers] leave when there is a power outage.”

ENERGY CRISIS BITES

As the war in Ukraine sent the global oil market into a frenzy, the government reacted by raising the fuel prices by as much as 50 percent to relieve the increasing strain on the country's foreign exchange reserves. Its impact has been far reaching, driving up living costs and disrupting public utilities such as gas and water services.

An executive engineer of a MODS Zone at Dhaka WASA, asking not to be named, said water production decreased after the government resorted to the policy of load shedding in July to conserve energy.

“Many water pumps run on fuel oil-based generators during power cuts. The fuel price hike has also created a problem,” the WASA engineer said.

Dhaka WASA's Padma Jashaldia Water Treatment Plant boasts the capacity of producing 450 million litres per day, but it usually produces 300 million litres for zones 1, 2 and 6 of the agency in the capital.

The plant does not yet have a generator, so it is shut down during outages, said an executive engineer, who also requested not to be named.

“Supply decreases during power cuts. The landlords who have extra pumps draw water from the lines, leaving nothing for those who don’t have extra pumps.”

AB Ashraf Uddin Ahmed, a resident of Baitul Aman Housing, and Mohammad Mithun, the caretaker of a house in the Gudaraghat area of Badda, said they have to buy water supplied by tankers.

Nasrin Jahan, a housewife residing in Baitul Aman Housing, said her family has been buying water from tankers for the last two months. “We have made many inquiries and filed complaints, but there is no solution.”

The authority has installed a new pump that draws 2,000 litres of water a minute for the residents of the Swadhinota Sarani area of North Badda. If the neighbourhood is left without power even for two hours a day, the pump's extraction capacity is reduced by up to 240,000 litres.

Operators of some water pumps in North Badda's GM Bari, Central Badda, Norda, Joarshahara, Mirpur's West Agargaon, and Rampura's Hajipara, said that the pumps there are shut down due to power failure. None of them wanted to be named because they are not authorised to talk to the media.

POPULATION DENSITY AGGRAVATING CRISIS: WASA

Dhaka WASA Managing Director Taqsem A Khan could not be reached for comment as he was in the United States on leave.

Deputy Managing Director AKM Shahid Uddin, who is acting as the MD of WASA, refuted the claim that water production and supply have been hit by power outages.

All pumps are connected to electricity generators or alternative power lines, he claimed.

"Some areas are facing a water shortage because they cannot give us land to install pumps.” said Shahid Uddin.

He also blamed the dense population of Dhaka for the crisis.

“We can provide water to 25,000 people with one pump. But if there are 250,000 people, how will we meet everyone's needs? Installing a pump is the solution, but locals cannot provide space for it.”

[Written in English by Arshi Fatiha Quazi]