Beware of water you drink: Report
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KATHMANDU, MAR 23 - The drinking water supplied in most parts of the Capital is unsafe for drinking due to high amount of biological pollutants, including infectious bacteria and viruses, according to experts.
Presenting a paper on ‘Water Quality, Reality and Challenges’ at a programme organised on the occasion of Nepal National Water Week 2010, Jay Bahadur Gurung, executive director of Water Engineering and Training Centre (WETC), said the drin-king water supplied in the city is highly contaminated with harmful bacteria, particularly E-coli, and viruses that cause various waterborne diseases like dia-rrhoea and dysentery.
The amount of harmful chemicals like iron, ammonia, arsenic and mercury is high in the drinking water.
According to a study that WETC conducted in 2009, out of 39 samples of bottled mineral water collected from different places in Kathmandu, 28 samples were found to be conta-minated with bacteria, viruses and other harmful organisms.
“More than 72 percent of the sampled mineral water was found unsafe for drinking,” said Gurung, who was a member of the study team.
Meanwhile, the government’s report published in 2003 stated that lack of quality drinking water and proper sanitation facilities in the country are to blame for more than 80 percent of the diseases.
Increasing human settlements and population growth are mainly to blame for scarcity of safe drinking water inside the city, said Dr. Suman Kumar Shakya, acting director of Environment and Public Health Organisation.
“It’s time the government and other stakeholders monitored the quality of bottled mi-neral water and drinking water distributed by Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL),” said Shakya.
Posted on: 2010-03-23 12:00
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