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Water from Saidabad Plant

High ammonia concentration poses severe health risk

Ershad Kamol
Millions of Dhaka residents, who drink water treated in Saidabad Water Treatment Plant (SWTP) and supplied by Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), are at severe health qs|c due to high concentration of ammonia in that, according to several studies.
Ammonia concentration in SWTP treated water has been found to be ten times higher than the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for dry seasons between January and April.
Studies by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), Design Planning and Management Consultants Limited (DPM), the Institute of Water Management (IWM), and Aqua, a water resources related private consulting firm, found concentration of dilute^ ammonia in SWTp jreate0 water reaching up to 5.7 milligram (mg) per litre compared to the 0.5 mg per litre safety limit set by WHO.
The studies concluded that the facilities in SWTP are inadequate for treating dangerously high concentration of ammonia and industrial wastes such as lead and cadmium, which may cause serious kidney, liver, lung, and stom-
ach diseases among consumers.
In 2004, a joint report by Buet and IWM also presented similar findings to Wasa, but with no result.
Each day, SWTP supplies 22.5 million litres of treated water to the capital's north-south pipeline that runs from Postogola Bridge |o Farm Gate, and to the east-west pipeline which supplies water to the vast area from Goran through Old Dhaka to Dhanmondi.
The reports' findings reveal that 'conventional technologies' used by SWTP commissioned in 2002, cannot remove high concentrations of ammonia, algae, and
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industrial wastes from the massive intake of polluted water from Norai and DND canals at Sarulia.
A high level Wasa official also said, preferring anonymity, that SWTP cannot neutralise ammonia and harmful heavy metals, as it is not equipped to treat extremely polluted water.
“Usually exceptional parameters such as very high concentration of ammonia are not taken into consideration during feasibility' studies for installing conventional water treatment plants like SWTP. In fact, there is no country in the world where rivers are so highly contaminated like the Shitalakkhya and Balu rivers in Bangladesh," he added.
The official said provisions for treating exceptional parameters were not put in place in SWTP because the Balu and Shitalakkhya were not as polluted during the first phase of the plant's installation in the early 1990s.
Wasa high-ups also recognise the possible health hazards from the water treated in SWTP
Another high official ofWasa, on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Star, "Only highly sophisticated treatment plants, like the ones usually installed in atomic
energy plants, can treat heavy metals in water."
"Disposal of industrial effluents into rivers must stop immediately, otherwise the water treatment plant might become useless," he added.
Health experts warn, such a high level of ammonia, heavy metals, and industrial wastes in drinking water, and the high level of chlorine used to treat that water during dry seasons, put consumers at serious health risks including chances of kidney, liver, lung, and stomach diseases.
"Many health problems such as kidney complications, jaundice, gastro-intestinal complicacies, and liver cirrhosis can be caused by higher concentration of ammonia in drinking water," said Prof Jalil Chowdhury of the medicine department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
But, SWTP engineers, citing WHO guidelines, deny that high concentration of ammonia in drinking water poses any threat to the users' health. Wasa however runs daily tests of ammonia concentration in the water treated in SWTP
A Wasa high official told The Daily Star, "High concentration of ammonia makes die water malodorous, making it unacceptable
to consumers. It doesn't pose any health risk." adding, "Highconcentration of ammonia is one of the major reasons for getting malodorous water in many areas of the city during dry seasons."
ProfABMFaroqueofthedepart-ment of pharmaceutical technology at Dhaka University, however said. "WHO develops its guidelines in a gradual manner, and doesn't consider unusual cases like Bangladesh, where the source of water for treatment is totally contaminated by human and industrialwastes."
Prof Faroque added that high volumes of chlorine, lime, and aluminium sulphate used in SWTP to treat contaminated water from sources like the Balu and Shitalakkhya rivers, also pose serious health risks.
SWTP engineers said they have to nearly double the volume of chlorine used in the plant to 60 kilograms per hour to treat contaminated water during the dry season.
"A report by a journal of the Human Medicine Association reveals that high concentration of chlorine in water has a 94 percent chance of badly affecting corneas of humans. Moreover, it causes chlorine induced diarrhoea", Prof Faroque said.
He added that Wasa should also arrange regular testing of its water for lead, cadmium, and mercury as no such test has ever been performed on its water or the source.
The thin ray of hope is that there is a Tk 700 crore agreement between Wasa and Danish International Development Agency' (Danida) for the second phase of SWTP by 2011. Wasa officials said.
Wasa Managing Director M Raihanul Abedin said Danida will provide technical support for setting up a pre-treatment plant for controlling concentration of ammonia in pre-treated water.
Abedin also said Asian Development Bank is funding a master plan which includes a plan for getting pre-treated water from the Meghna River for SWTP in its third phase.
"Moreover, funded by the World Bank we are installing a sewage treatment plant at Dasherkandi near Demra to improve the condition of the water collected from the Balu river,” he added.
Wasa however cannot control pollution of the Shitalakkhya through DND canal or of any other river, as the rivers are under the jurisdiction of the water development board, Abedin quipped.