Access to Safe Water in Sindh, Pakistan

1. Sustainable Development Policy Institute
12th Sustainable Development Conference
Fostering Sustainable Development in South Asia
Responding to Challenges, 21 –23 Dec 2009, Islamabad
Assessing the Sustainable
Access to Safe Drinking-water in
Sindh
F H Mughal
Controller of Buildings
Karachi Building Control Authority
21 Dec 2009

2. • Sindh is one of the 4 provinces of Pakistan
with a population of 30 million. About 52%
of the population lives in rural areas
• Public Health Engineering Department has
been developing water and sanitation
(W&S) facilities in Sindh. Minor projects
(costing less than Rs. 50 million, typically)
are handled by the town municipal
administration.

3. • W&S interventions in Sindh have been inappropriately
developed, resulting in poor service delivery.
• Treated water quality is poor in all towns. High
incidence of waterborne diseases is a common
occurrence. Typically, 40% of beds in any hospital
are occupied by patients suffering from water
borne diseases, at any given time
• DAWN (18 July 2009), reported death of one
person and, over 750 people fell sick after they
consumed contaminated water in Karachi.
In Jan 2009, 31% of the drinking-water samples
in Karachi were found to be unfit for consumption.
mostly in rural areas.

4. Assessment
• 6-month long study was conducted to assess the causes of low
effectiveness of water facilities in Sindh.
• Two-pronged strategy was developed. One was the informal
discussions with the staff of the service providers.
• The second approach dealt with actual site visits to 12 towns.
These were: Tando Adam, Hala, Nawabshah, Badin, Shaheed
Fazil Rahu, Jacobabad, Sukkur, Latifabad, Thatta, Tando
Muhammad Khan, Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad.
• Visits gave first-hand information of the water treatment
technologies being used. Their technical assessment showed
why they have been ineffective in providing the intended service.

5. Assessment Findings
• Water treatment projects was largely based on the preferences
of the field engineers. The needs of the people were not
ascertained. The overseers and sub-divisional officers (the
lowest category of officers) develop water supply projects on
their own. Projects are forwarded to the higher officers for
approval.
• Technical design of the project is left to the understanding of
overseers. Educational qualification of overseers is a diploma-
related course, which do not entitle them to design a water
project. The next stage of officers, though qualified (bachelor of
engineering), depend on what has been prepared by overseers.

6. A water treatment project’s characteristics
were, typically, found as follows:
• Pumping of raw water from a canal, with turbidity as
high as 200 nephelometric turbidity unit (ntu) to large
earthen ponds. Ponds served as settling tanks.
• Water was then taken to a clear-water well from where
it was pumped to the distribution system. The quality of
water of the clear-water well was found to be poor.
• Plastic bag containing some disinfectant was seen near
the clear-water well, at some places. Disinfection was
rarely practiced. In any case disinfection is ineffective,
when the water is turbid (> 10 ntu).

7. • Pumps were found to be pumping water directly from the
canal, without any protection on its intake side.
• Floating materials were found in the canal, which are threat to
the pumps’ impellers.
• No concept of sedimentation was found. Water was discharged
in the pond, causing eddies. Large surface area of the ponds
made it impossible for the relatively larger particles to settle down.
• Location of interconnecting pipes, connecting two ponds, was
such that, it caused short-circuiting of water.
• Since, the process of sedimentation was not at work, the water
quality at the final end, as expected, was poor. Water treatment
system provided was inadequate and deficient.

8. • All water projects have a design question that asks about the
number of people that will be benefited from the project.
• Figures are conveyed to the provincial government and, on
to the federal government. Reports generated at the federal
government’s level are conveyed to international agencies,
giving incorrect population figures that have access to water
supply facilities.
• For example, according to the Pakistan government’s household
survey report (2004), access to “improved” water in Pakistan
increased from 83% in 1990 to 91% in 2004. The percentage of
coverage is not accurate, if the actual benefits to people are
considered.

9. Roadmap – in the Context of Sindh
1. In case of reports of improper output and service of
water supply facilities, the technical aspects should be
examined first to see whether the facilities have been
properly designed.
2. Attention should next be given to the operation and
maintenance of the facilities.
3. Ensure that funds are available for sustained operation
of the facilities.
Site visits revealed significant constraints of non-availability
of adequate funds for the operation and maintenance of the
facilities. Assessment should cover the treatment facilities and
the distribution system.

10. 4. It is essential to sensitize the people, civil society, CBOs and
NGOs of the consequences of poor water treatment facilities
and, conversely, the benefits of safe water.
5. Impacts in financial terms, (for example, medical bills, and lost
productive hours due to illness) can be easily seen and realized
by the people.
6. In rural areas, it is the women, who fetches water and are
responsible for water issues. They are never consulted by the
service providers. Efforts are required to eliminate the gender
bias and, mainstream the women folks in water business.
7. No evidence of community participation in water supply
facilities was found. There was no ownership of the projects,
which were viewed by the people as some government entities.
Communities must be involved from stage one.

11. 8. There seems to be no pressure groups, for pressurizing the
government for providing safe water. Due the absence of
such pressure groups, the government remains unmoved to
sporadic complaints of poor water quality.
9. Govt must initiate continuing training program for the staff of
service provider, so that, technically sound water projects are
developed.
10. Even though the pressure of adopting the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) for water is there, the real-time
benefits to people of water supply facilities have not been
provided, barring the errorous reporting of the coverage of
population.
11. There is no check on figures of actual benefits for the people,
at the highest government level. Govt must counter-check the
figures by site visits and review of project documents.

12. Household Water Treatment Systems
• In isolated communities, people need to adopt
household water treatment systems
• Typically, water from wells is better than canal water.
Well water, generally, contains iron and manganese
• In Khairpur and Nawabshah districts, well water
contain arsenic
• NGOs need to motivate people living in isolated places
to use household water treatment systems.
• Some household water treatment systems are
described in next few slides………

13. Household Water Treatment Systems
Ceramic Pot Filters
Ceramic pot filters consists of kiln-fired clay, coated with colloidal
silver. It includes a plastic or clay container with a lid and spigot.
It has the capacity to remove bacteria, protozoa, helminthes,
turbidity and iron. It has limited removal capacities for viruses and
arsenic. Flow rate is 1.5 to 3 liters per hour.
It is easy to use and, users like the taste of water. Filter normally
lasts for about 2 years.
Turbid water (greater than 100 JTU – Jackson Turbidity Units)
can, however, plug the filter frequently.

14. Ceramic Candle Filters
Ceramic candle filter consists of one or more porous
hollow cylindrical “candles,” made of kiln-fired clay and,
coated with colloidal silver.
The unit includes one or more buckets with lids and a
spigot.
It can remove bacteria, protozoa, helminthes and
turbidity.
It can work at the flow rate of 1.5 to 3 liters per hour.
Filter must be replaced every two years.

15. Biosand Filters
The biosand filter works in the same way as traditional slow sand
water filters.
The difference is that the biosand filter is smaller, and water does
not need to flow through it all the time.
The filter can be built anywhere because it is built using materials
that are available.
It is simply a concrete container, with layers of sand and gravel
inside it.
Sand and gravel remove dirt, bacteria, viruses and parasites and
other impurities from the water.

16. Arsenic Filters
Kanchan Arsenic Filter (KAF) is an innovative household drinking
water treatment device for removing arsenic, pathogens, iron,
turbidity, odour, and some other contaminants in drinking water.
Operation is very simple. First, place a collection container
below the filter outlet. Then, remove the lid. Pour water from
best available source into the top diffuser basin. Water should
be poured slowly, not to disperse the brick chips and iron nails.
Water passes over the brick chips, then the nails, through the
sand and comes out of the spout. Ideally, the collection container
should have a narrow mouth (e.g., gagri or kolshi) and/or a lid.
Collection container should be kept clean to reduce re-
contamination of water. The design flow rate is 15 -20 liters/hour,
which is adequate even for a large family of 20 people.

17. SODIS (Solar Disinfection)
SODIS is simple, inexpensive (where bottles are available).
When not supported by a strong community program, acceptance
drops. It can be implemented immediately.
Bottles can be collected or purchased. Clear, plastic PET
(Polyethylene terephtalate) bottles of 1-2 liters are preferable as
they are chemically stable. Glass is acceptable but is breakable.
PVC should not be used due to chemical additives that could be
released from the bottle. Bottles get scratched or aged by sunlight
must be replaced periodically (every year). Bottles will melt and
deform if the temperature reaches 65°C. Multiple bottles are
required per family (4 bottles per person): one set of bottles must
be filled and placed on the roof each day, while the water in the
other set is consumed. The plastic screw cap on the bottles must
be kept clean.

18. Roughing Filters
Typically, a roughing filter consists of a tank filled with material of
different sizes. The filter material is usually gravel. Size of gravel
varies from 30 mm to 4 mm, with coarser material at the inlet end
and, finer material at the outlet end of the tank.
Water flow can be horizontal, up or down. Horizontal-flow roughing
filter is 9 to 12 m long and 1 to 2 m deep. Roughing filters have
three differently sized filter media, ranging from coarse to fine
filter material. The size of coarse filter material is 16 to 30 mm, that
of medium filter material is 12 to 18 mm and, the size of fine filter
material is 4 to 8 mm.
Major portion of solid matter removal is achieved by the coarse
medium. Width of roughing filter should not exceed 4 to 5 meters.
For vertical-flow filters, the filter surface area should not exceed
25 to 30 sq meters, while for horizontal-flow filters the
cross-sectional area should not exceed 4 to 6 sq meters.

19. Coconut Fiber and Burnt Rice Husk
The use of coconut fiber and burnt rice husk, as filter media,
is a low-cost, household water treatment method and, has the
advantage of producing safe, potable and wholesome
drinking-water. Filter media are locally and easily available
of Sindh. In rural Sindh, plenty of rice husk is available, in
rice-growing areas.
The process consists of a two-stage filter system. In the first
filter unit, shredded coconut fiber is placed and, in the second
filter column, burnt rice husk is placed. The raw water first passes
through the coconut fiber filter column and, then through the
second filter unit containing burnt rice husk.
The second filter is placed at a level lower than the first filter unit,
to achieve gravitational flow of water. The first stage unit removes
the initial turbidity, while the second unit polishes off the effluent.

20. A distinct advantage this technology has over the conventional
rural water treatment system, is that, the filter media
(coconut fiber and rice husk) have the ability to entrap the
particles, through the process of “adsorption,” as in case
of activated carbon, as against the sand as filter medium,
in rural water filters, which simply filters out the turbidity.
This means that, the particles just need to be agglomerated
enough to get entrapped by filter media and, not to the extent
of getting settled. As a result of this advantage, the requirements
of chemicals (alum), should they are required, if the turbidity is
in colloidal stage, is reduced to almost half, than what would be
required, if slow sand filter system is used, with the degree of
treatment and, volume of water treated, remaining the same.
The system would be required to be operated at the lower end
of the slow sand filter range, that is, at the filtration rate of
0.05 gpm/sq ft – gallons/minute per sq foot of filterable area

21. (2 liters/sq meter per min). The volumetric capacity of the
system can be doubled, if similar process is added in series,
provided equal volume stages are used.
The media might require change after about 600 hours of
operation, depending on the raw water turbidity levels.
The coconut fiber can be washed in water and, reused in the
filter.
The burnt rice husk would, however, require complete
change. For proper operation of the system, it is essential that,
the burnt rice husk do not have a weak structure, which is
caused by its low silica content. It would adversely affect the
filtration properties of the husk.
The rice husk should be burnt at the temp of 350o C, for one hour.

22. Mud-Pot Water Treatment System
The systems should rely as much as possible on local labor
and material. Use of alum, permanganate and chlorine tablets
for quick purification is easy and practicable at the domestic level.
A well-known and safe method practiced at homes involves a
mud-pot filtering system. The top pot contains pre-washed
gravel and sand through which raw water passes. The water
exits through a hole in the bottom of the pot into a second pot
kept below.
The mouth of the second pot is covered with a cloth filter while
a crushed coal bed lies on a pad below, removing many toxins
and germs from the water. Clean water exits through a hole in
the bottom of the second pot and then is collected below in a
third earthenware pot.

23. Drawbacks of Household Water Filters
•Filters to be cleaned regularly; frequency of cleaning is
dependent on raw water turbidity;
•Filters are not effective in removing pathogens. Therefore,
the treated water must be (a) disinfected (chlorine use, or
boiling); or (b) stored for 24 hours (more than 50% bacteria
die), but still need disinfection; or (c) treated water may be
passed thru another similar system, with low filtration rates;
•If filter media is not cleaned regularly, or, if the filter is left
unused for sometime, harmful bacteria can bread

24. Drawbacks of Ceramic Filters
Fragile, easy to crack allowing dirty water to pass through
undetected cracks
• Turbid water plugs filter
• Cleaning results in removal of ceramic layer, which over
time will need replacing
• Dissolved compounds are not removed (same as other filters)
• No residual disinfectant but the container provides safe storage
•Fragile, easy to crack allowing dirty water to pass through
undetected cracks
• Turbid water plugs filter

25. • Cleaning results in removal of ceramic layer, which over
time will need replacing
• Unknown effectiveness against viruses
• Dissolved compounds are not removed (same as other filters)
• Limited studies on the impacts on health
• A low flow rate of 1-2L / hour
• Unlikely to be appropriate in first phase emergency response
(need space, training, supply of replacement parts, regular
follow up)
• Requires users to be educated on the O & M

26. Thank you