Call for water grid as chattogram faces acute shortages

A national water grid, similar to the electricity grid, is crucial to addressing the water crisis, speakers said during World Water Week 2025.

They said a water grid would ensure fair distribution from remote areas to coastal cities. Despite being an industrial and port city, large parts of Chattogram are coastal or hilly, where safe water has become scarce due to climate change, deforestation, excessive groundwater use, river erosion, salinity, and rising sea levels.

The crisis has hit women hardest, with many walking kilometres daily to fetch water, losing valuable time and facing health risks. High salt levels in the water, known as salinity, have led to reproductive health complications and social problems, including violence against women.

Although the Karnafuli and Halda rivers are the main sources of Chattogram WASA (Water Supply and Sewerage Authority), deforestation in the hills has reduced water availability, while encroachment and pollution have choked the Karnafuli. The city faces severe shortages during the dry season but widespread waterlogging—flooding caused by inadequate drainage—in the monsoon.

At the consultation, held at the WASA conference hall after a symbolic women's procession with empty pitchers, experts stressed that unsustainable projects that ignore climate change cannot solve the problem. They called for climate-resilient planning, protecting natural reservoirs, and adopting the water grid as a national strategy.

Chattogram WASA Chief Engineer Maksud Alam warned that Kaptai Lake is filling up and must be dredged (i.e., have sediment removed from the bottom) to restore its capacity. "If the water grid can be built nationally, supply costs will fall, making it possible to address shortages everywhere," he said.

WASA Managing Director Monowara Begum said that nature was "turning against us" as humans continued to destroy it. She called for rainwater harvesting in every building, to be mandatory through the CDA (Chattogram Development Authority) if necessary, and for greater awareness to protect rivers and canals.

The event, organised by ISDE Bangladesh with support from the Water Rights Campaign, PRAN, and ActionAid, was chaired by SM Nazer Hossain (Vice President of CAB and Executive Director of ISDE Bangladesh), with Monowara Begum as chief guest. Notable attendees were Joint Secretary and WASA Deputy Managing Director (Administration) Muhammad Ashraf Hossain, Deputy Managing Director (Engineering) Bishnu Kumar Sarkar, and Chief Engineer Maksud Alam.

The keynote was presented by Shamsuddin Ilias, Business Standard Bureau Chief. Discussants included Professor Khaled Mizbahuzzaman of Chattogram University's Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science, environmentalist Professor Idris Ali, and Desh Rupantor Bureau Chief Bhuiya Nazrul.

Speakers demanded unified and immediate action on water scarcity, calling it a critical human rights issue. This year's World Water Week theme, "Water for Climate Action", highlights the urgency. From Bangladesh's coastal struggles, the call is clear: Commit resources now to national solutions like the water grid and climate-resilient planning. Delay means risking lives—action cannot wait.