In search of pure drinking water

When Sonaban Bibi, 62, got married 46 years ago, there was a pond next to her house, from which she managed to fetch drinking water.

However, some 20 years ago the water of that pond in Betbunia village of Khulna's Paikgacha upazila became unfit for consumption, due to salt intrusion caused by a nearby shrimp enclosure. 

So for the last 20 years, Sonaban has been fetching drinking water from a pond in nearby Golbunia village, 1.5 km away from her house.

Fetching three to four pitchers of water daily for her family of nine remains a strenuous task, despite the assistance provided by her sons and daughters-in-law.

This phenomenon, unfortunately, is far from unique. Bangladesh's coastal regions have long grappled with a lack of safe drinking water, a crisis fueled by a multitude of factors. The country's geographical location, low river flows caused by upstream barrages, mismanagement of coastal polders, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events all play a significant role. But a more insidious contributor is emerging – shrimp culture. While this aquaculture practice provides a livelihood for many, it comes at a heavy cost. Shrimp enclosures need saline water to thrive and as a result, salinity intrusion increases with the expansion of shrimp culture. The extent of salinity in groundwater is also increasing because of continuous shrimp cultivation in the fresh agricultural land. Residents are forced to travel vast distances for usable water, a daily struggle that Sonaban Bibi knows all too well.

"It's a year-round routine, whether it's winter, summer, or rainy season, we need to fetch water from Golbunia," said Sonaban, when she was returning home after fetching water with a big pitcher last week.

While we try to harvest rainwater during the rainy season, it still is not enough to run the house, she said,  adding, "I spent my whole life drinking pond water, as there are no functioning tubewells here."

Rafuza Begum, another resident of Betbunia, said, "Earlier there were five ponds around our village. Now you can't drink water from any of them. Saline water from shrimp enclosures has contaminated the ponds."

"I don't know where will we go if the water of the pond in Golbunia turns salty as well," she added.

The story is the same for people living in 32 villages of Soladana union of Paikgacha. Around 34,000 people deals with drinking water crisis due to saltwater intrusion.

Meanwhile, at least 10,000 people of seven villages depend on the pond in Golbunia. However, that last resort is currently at risk of saline-water intrusion, say locals.

Chairman of Soladana union, Abdul Mannan Ghazi said, "All 32 villages are saltwater-prone areas. Saltwater shrimps are cultivated everywhere, which has caused the water in the ponds to become salty. Six government ponds have been abandoned for years due to saline water intrusion and lack of renovation."

"Only 25 percent of households have been able to get water tanks from government. Some of the solvent people have bought tanks by themselves, but most can't do so," he said.

"Only 8 to 10 shallow tubewells are functional, while there are no deep tubewells in the union. So the water shortage is acute throughout the year, and even more during summer," he added.

Saikat Mallick, fisheries officer of Paikgacha, said, shrimp farming is being conducted on a large scale in 10 unions and one municipal area of the upazila.

"It is the largest saltwater shrimp farming zone of Khulna. This year 3940 salt water shrimp gher is being cultivated on 17,075 hectares of land. Out of this only Soladana Union has 1,037 shrimp enclosures on a plot of 3,495," he added.

Md Akmol Hossain, executive engineer of Department of Public Health Engineering told The Daily Star that deep tube wells are not functioning anywhere in ten unions and one municipal area of the upazila. Even the government does not give allotment to any deep tube well. There are 42,00 shallow tube wells in all the upazilas, one-third of which are functional, while others are lying idle.

Some NGOs provide a few water technologies and sources including Rain Water Harvesting (RWH), Pond Sand Filters (PSF), and Reverse Osmosis (RO). But it only functions for a short time. Thus, they drink poisoned water from local sources, he added.