ASSESSING EXPOSURE TO DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATED BY ARSENIC AND IRON: POTENTIAL MEASURES FOR IMPROVING ACCESS TO SAFE AND AFFORDABLE WATER IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABLE COASTAL AREA OF BANGLADESH

Ensuring access to clean and affordable water is one of the greatest challenges in attaining relevant targets of Sustainable Development Goals-6 for most of the developing countries. Especially, the importance of safe water has increased many folds in recent months as washing hands with soap and water has been widely recommended in combatting the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The study conducted in Tala upazila (with >0.3 million people) situated in a coastal district of Bangladesh endeavors to assess exposure to contaminated by geogenic arsenic, iron in tubewell water, and to recommend potential measures in improving access to safe and affordable drinking water in the coastal area. A total of 4500 households were surveyed for getting relevant information, while water quality in terms of arsenic and iron concentration at 649 most dependent drinking water sources (basically tubewells) were assessed. Arsenic test results revealed that over one out of three of tested drinking water sources were unsafe due to presence of high levels of arsenic beyond Bangladesh standard. About two-thirds (61%) of tested sources had iron concentration higher than the Bangladesh standard. In some areas, a significant proportion of the households (10-20%) were collecting water from far distances (1-2km) An interesting finding was that some households travel long distances although having a closer deep tubewell. Through discussing with community, it was revealed that when people are habituated in collecting drinking water from a source for a long period of time and feel taste is good, they usually do not want to shift their drinking water source. Encouraging peoples who are currently drinking arsenic contaminated tubewell water to shift their sources to nearby arsenic free tubewells may be a cost-effective. Engaging community-based WatSan committee including local government representatives to design an affordable water tariff structure and generating sufficient revenue to cover the cost of water services in the community would be an effective and sustainable solution to improve access of safe and affordable drinking water in the coastal area of Bangladesh. Therefore, targeting the most affected areas for improving access to safe water is very crucial. As tubewell is the primary source of water for drinking and other chores, and many people use a single source, to keep it safe against COVID-19, cleaning the handle of tubewell everyday with disinfectant/soap routinely if it is a shared source would be a good practice to improve safety among communities.