Nepal, richest in contaminated water resources
Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) has reported that the drinking water supplied by the government and the ground water of Kathmandu Valley, are highly contaminated. NAST has said that 61.4 percent of 114 samples of drinking water supplied by the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) were contaminated with coliform bacteria. Similarly, 84 percent of the total 926 samples of ground water were also found to be contaminated. The samples were collected from Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kavre and Jhapa. But 47 percent of the samples were from the Valley. Scientifically speaking, prevalence of coliform bacteria in water is an indicator of fecal contamination. Consumption of such contaminated water leads to health hazards like morbidity, stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea. In addition, NAST has also said that it found 34 percent of samples exceeding the standard value for turbidity or muddiness accepted in Nepal. While 46 percent of the samples were detected with high iron content, 38 percent samples contained ammonia and one percent had nitrate beyond the permissible level. High nitrate content can cause methemoglobinemia, a blood-related disease, among children.
This is a serious matter. The causes of water contamination are numerous, and extend from agricultural runoff to improper use of household chemicals, the scale of use of which is, unfortunately, larger than one can imagine. However, our old and out-dated water treatment plants are not well-equipped to remove dangerous synthetic chemicals from drinking water. The government must install modern water plants and upgrade the treatment system at once if it wants to avoid serious health hazards to its citizens and should give this an utmost priority. If the government continues to be apathetic, the threat consumption of such contaminated water poses to public health would be immense.
