SHOHANUR RAHMAN RAFI

Thousands of residents of Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila have been grappling with an alarming water crisis as ultra-deep wells yield saline water and deep aquifers remain contaminated with arsenic.

Several neighbourhoods under Chapainawabganj municipality are receiving water too salty for consumption, while people in other areas rely on groundwater much at risk of arsenic poisoning.

In many households, the tap water smells unpleasant and corrodes pipes, and residents say their skin itches after bathing.

As such, people are forced to collect safe drinking water from distant sources on a daily basis.

The crisis surfaced after three ultra-deep production wells -- each around 1,000 feet deep -- were installed in 2020 with assistance from JICA in the Rajarampur, Chandail, and Rehaichar areas of the municipality. The wells were meant to identify arsenic-free aquifers and expand safe water access.

However, the wells instead began yielding excessively saline and warm water, according to the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE).

As per DPHE data, while the Bangladesh standard prescribes 150–600 mg/L of chloride and 1,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS), tests revealed significantly higher concentrations in water pumped from the deep wells -- Rajarampur (965 ft) with chloride 1,280 mg/L, TDS 2,570 mg/L; Chandlai (1,000 ft) with chloride 830 mg/L, TDS 1,710 mg/L; and Rehaichar (1,009 ft) with chloride 830 mg/L, TDS 1,780 mg/L.

Although the wells yield arsenic-free water, the high salinity makes them unsafe for drinking.

In contrast, five similar wells installed in the district outside the municipality in 2021 showed salinity and TDS levels within normal limits -- suggesting that the problem is highly location-specific.

Meanwhile, water from deep aquifers across the municipality has been found highly contaminated with arsenic.

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