A child drinks water from the tap. PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
As Peshawar grapples with a worsening water and sanitation emergency, tests have found that 84 percent of the city’s water supply is contaminated, and experts warn that the crisis is fueling the spread of polio and other waterborne diseases across the provincial capital.
According to a study by UNICEF, nearly 400,000 people in Peshawar are still deprived of basic toilet facilities.
Furthermore, health experts warn that unsafe drinking water, open defecation and inadequate sanitation are directly driving increases in diarrhoea, polio and other preventable diseases.
The crisis has been exacerbated by rapid population growth. Peshawar’s population has passed 2.4 million with an annual growth rate of 2.86 percent, putting enormous pressure on already fragile water and sanitation systems.
According to UNICEF data, about 80 percent of the city’s water sources are contaminated, leaving only 20 percent safe to drink. At the same time, the groundwater level is falling at an alarming rate.
According to the KP Mouza Census 2020, the average water table has dropped to 188 feet, posing a serious long-term sustainability threat.
While the survey shows that the availability of water is considered adequate in 79.6 percent of the areas and that 83.4 percent of households have access to water, experts emphasize that quality, not quantity, is the core issue.
Widespread contamination with E. coli bacteria has been detected, affecting 13.6 percent of the water sources.
The degree of pollution is 12.9 percent in rural areas, but rises sharply to a dangerous 17.5 percent in urban areas. Only 13.6 percent of the water samples were found to be free of E. coli.
Chemical pollution
Similarly, chemical pollution has also worsened the situation further. The report found nitrate contamination in 13.8 percent of the samples, fluoride in 1.2 percent, iron in 3.3 percent and water hardness (calcium carbonate) in 14.6 percent – all of which can cause serious health problems with prolonged consumption.
The sanitary conditions are equally worrying. The survey found that 9.5 percent of Peshawar’s population, which is approximately 400,000 people, still lack access to toilets. The report states that open defecation and poor hygiene practices play a major role in the spread of polio and other waterborne diseases.
Congested city
Environment expert Haseeb Khan said Peshawar was an “overburdened city”, adding that population influx from conflict-affected districts had exacerbated existing problems. He identified poor governance as the cause. “Legislators are more focused on politics and protests than on public welfare,” he said.
He pointed out that the city still lacks a complete sewage system. “At the time of the master plan, only Hayatabad and Warsak Road were allocated sewerage network and no effective expansion has taken place since then,” he said.
