Majority of the samples collected and analysed was found to be unfit for drinking purpose in all four provinces of Pakistan without any exception. In Balochistan, 100 percent of water was found unfit for drinking as the microbiological contamination in more than half of the water samples from 21 cities under scanning is the reason for unsafe water.
This was according to the report 'Drinking Water Quality: Challenges in Pakistan' prepared by Director Pakistan Council Of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Zamir Ahmed Soomro, Dr M. Irfan Ahmed Khokar, W. Hussain and M. Hussain. According to the survey, 81 percent water of Punjab is contaminated, Sindh 85 percent while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 82 percent of water is not safe for drinking.
The report said that arsenic was found to be very high in the water samples collected from all major cities of Punjab, mainly due to the presence of industries, which are releasing toxic materials to the effluent which is ultimately mixed with groundwater. Iron concentration was found to be very high in the districts of Mardan and Peshawar, high turbidity values were obtained of the collected samples from Hyderabad and Sukkur.
Major water contaminants found in the water of all the provinces included TDS Nitrates, Arsenic, Fluoride, Iron and Microbial Contamination (E-Coli, Total Coliform). Water supply agencies including in the surveyed cities must ensure that the water being supplied to the consumers is free of bacterial contamination. The report suggested that no water supply scheme should be approved unless detailed investigation of the quality, quantity and sustainability is carried out. Alternate source should be identified in areas where the quality of existing source of water supply is contaminated.
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