The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority is planning to initiate Saidabad Water Treatment Plant Phase III in a bid to reduce dependency on ground water.
The officials said the project would help reduce the pressure on ground water when the ground water table is falling by two to three metres every year for over extraction.
Feasibility study of the Saidabad Phase III projects is going on, and an expert team has already completed 50 per cent work of the water treatment plant layout, informed project officials at a workshop on Thursday.
DWASA in cooperation with EGIS Eau, France and Institute of Water Modelling Bangladesh organised the workshop on ‘Saidabad Water Treatment Plant Phase III feasibility study overview’ at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.
The consultancy firm, EGIS Eau, France is conducting the feasibility study.
Alban Trouillet, team leader of EGIS Eau France, said because of over extraction, the ground water level of Bangladesh was depleting per year 2-3 metres.
The government and the authorities concerned should give more emphasis on surface water as the main source of drinking water supply.
At present DWASA supplies 242 crore litres of water daily against the demand for 225 crore litres of which, 22 per cent water comes from surface sources and 78 per cent from ground water.
When Saidabad WTP Phase III would be completed, it alone would contribute 450 million litres of water per day though at present Saidabad WTP Phase I and II jointly contribute 450 million litres of water per day, said Alban.
Alban said that by February 2014, DWASA would be able to do the final feasibility study of Phase III, in 2015 they would go for construction work and it would start serving people by 2017-2018 fiscal years.
For treating the water of phase III, DWASA is going to use the same method also applied in phase I and II, said Phase III project director Md Kamrul Hasan over phone.
DWASA uses liquid chlorine gas, alum sulphate and cold lime for treating the water at the Saidabad phase-I and II though High Court on January 11, 2010, after hearing a writ petition, issued a rule asking the government and the DWASA to explain why the acceptance of the tender for using chlorine at the Saidabad Water Treatment Plant phase II as responsive would not be declared illegal.
DWASA managing director Taqsem A Khan said the government already signed an agreement with China to set up Padma-Jashaldia Water Treatment Plant and the plants capacity would be about 45 crore litres of water per day, he said.
Taqsem said that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in this month approved Gandharabpur Water Treatment Plant project worth Tk 52.48 billion for purifying nearly 500 million litres of water per day.
Addressing the workshop, chief guest information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said DWASA has been providing safe water for the consumers but water supply, its availability, accessibility and production method should also be environment-friendly and sustainable.
Local Government and Rural Development additional secretary KM Mozammel Haque, planning secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam and IWM executive director Monowar Hossain also spoke at the programme.
-With New Age input
