More than 65 percent of the people living in Lahore are consuming water contaminated with arsenic, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Recently, the Water and Sanitation Authority has started using the deep-well digging technique to ensure supply of clean water to the citizens, however, the outdated water pipes have made this exercise futile.
According to an Environment Protection Department (EPD) survey, 253 of 392 tube wells are pumping out water contaminated with arsenic which implies that the contaminated water shares pipes with the arsenic-free supply.
Arsenic in drinking water is a hazard to human health. The safe arsenic level set by the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) is 50ppb.Arsenic is a semi-metal. It is odorless and tasteless. It enters drinking water supplies from natural deposits in the earth or from agricultural and industrial practices.
Consumption of arsenic can cause thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, vomiting; diarrhea; numbness in hands and feet; partial paralysis; and blindness. Arsenic has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, liver, and prostate.
Groundwater is one of the most important sources of drinking water and is not present in abundance in nature. The contamination of groundwater with arsenic is one of serious problems encountered in developing countries. Thus there is a rising need to map the level of arsenic concentration, trend of arsenic flow and the temporal changes that occur in concentration level.
Groundwater in Lahore is being contaminated by raw sewage irrigation and land disposal of industrial effluents and through the use of deep soakage pits and heavy application of fertilizers and pesticides.
The present study was an effort to map arsenic concentration at a district level that might lead to a broader understanding of its regional presence and significance. India and Bangladesh has been reported to suffer a lot from arsenic contamination problems. Under the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the permissible level of arsenic in drinking water for Pakistan is 0.05 mg per liter (50ppb) which is said to be safe.
“We admit that due to interconnection of all WASA tube wells with each other, dilution could take place which diminishes the level of arsenic in the system caused by any particular tube well,” a WASA official asking not to be named told Pakistan Today, adding, “We are drilling at 750 feet depth to tap into the clean water supply but arsenic is heavy so it is found at that level also.”
