Mapping Water Use and Risk: A Study on Turag River Area in Tongi

Abstract

Safe water at home is critical for living a healthier life. Though water scarcity has never been a problem in the riverine Bangladesh, a reliable supply of water is becoming increasingly scarce. Water pollution places a greater strain on people’s ability to afford water in both urban and rural areas, especially those who belong to low-income category. Unplanned urbanization, industrial expansion, and a massive population have increased interactions between various water users, altered water environment, poisoned river sources, lowered ground water tables, and modified the water regime. The present study focuses on urban water sources, their usage pattern, and the associated risks following mixed method approach- household survey using a standard semi-structured questionnaire at twelve different locations along the Turag River in the capital city Dhaka. A survey of water use behavior (observation) was held for eight days at two locations from 7 am to 5 pm. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were also conducted at the six sites of Turag River area. The Key Informant Interviews (KII) were also conducted to get detailed information from different locations. Electric/motor tube well (73.8%), public pipe and tap water (23.3%), shallow and deep tube well (2.6%), and other open sources such as rainwater, river, lake, pond, etc. (2.8%) were documented as the primary sources of water for researched communities. In terms of their interactions with the Turag River, the community was mostly observed to gathering water for the home, washing (clothes or dishes or properties), navigation/transportation, commercial use, duck rearing, bathing, and a variety of other recreational activities with a gender variation- women (56.9%) interacting with the river more than men (43.1%). Communities also reported about suffering from different waterborne diseases such as gastric/ulcers/stomach pain (36.6%), skin disease (12.6%), dysentery (12.5%), chikungunya/dengue/malaria (11.1%), jaundice (9.2%), typhoid (6.0%), tuberculosis/pneumonia (5.4%), cholera (0.8%) and various other illness such as body pain, back pain, respiratory problem, gynecological problem, tonsil, fever (30%) in the past one year. The occurrence of these illnesses may be the result of poor water quality from sources or other reasons such as poor hygiene at home, inadequate water supply, inappropriate water storage practices, and so on. Absence from the work or forgo income due to illness has risen issues in the workplaces such as wage or pay deduction, dismissed from the job, getting verbal warnings etc. The study also revealed that women (97.1%) are more proactive than their male counterparts in collecting water for daily necessities (29.6%). Similarly, girls (10.4 %) are more likely than boys to collect water on their own or accompanied by their mothers (5.0%). While fetching water, women face a variety of challenges along with some health-related issues. The lack of proper water management systems is cited as the primary cause of water scarcity in the country. Addressing all these issues holistically, a national policy framework to achieve sustainable development goals of ensuring universal access to water is of vital importance.