Benjamin Franklin says "When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." This seems very true for many urban areas and cities in the world. The mega city Dhaka is experiencing a severe water crisis in recent years. Water shortage becomes worse during the summer months. The groundwater table is diminishing at an alarming rate. Is it too late to achieve water sustainability in Dhaka? Groundwater Depletion Scenario in Dhaka At present, Dhaka has around 21 million people, which is projected to cross 32 million by 2035. Uncontrolled migration and rapid urbanisation are generating diverse problems, including the water crisis. Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) is failing to supply water to fulfil the demand of residents in half of the areas of the capital city of Bangladesh. Dhaka WASA's 2018-19 year's annual report shows that the daily water demand of Dhaka city is about 2.45 billion litres and 78% of this demand is met by groundwater extraction. Besides these, thousands of private deep tube wells are used in the city to extract water from the underground aquifers. Then surface water sources like rivers and lakes are used to fulfil the remaining 22% demand of water. Read more: Top Strategies to Enhance Fire Resilience in Dhaka City Most of The rivers and water bodies in and around the capital city including Turag, Dhaleswari, Buriganga, Tongi Khal, Balu, Shitalakshya, Bangshi River, etc are highly polluted by waste materials disposed of industrial as well as municipal sources. This situation aggravates during the dry seasons. At present, Dhaka WASA has four plants for treating water. But the amount of treated water is quite insufficient compared with the total demand of water. The long-term dependency on the underground aquifers has taken a toll on the city's groundwater table. According to 2030 Water Resources Group, Dhaka's groundwater table is declining at a rate of 3 metres every year. If the demand for water increases at the present rate, which is likely, then the projected yearly depletion rate of groundwater reserves can reach up to 5.1 metres by 2030. Currently, the average depth of Dhaka's groundwater table is about 78 metres, which may sink down to 132 metres in the next 10 to 12 years. Without appropriate preventive measures, the groundwater table may plunge to 100 to 150 metres by the year of 2050. Read more: What Can Dhaka Learn from the Smart City Singapore Multifarious Effects of Water Crisis The depletion of underground water levels can affect the residential, commercial and industrial zones of Dhaka city. The unregulated use of groundwater, may lead to severe shortfall in the supply of drinking water from underground aquifers.

Keraniganj, July 12 (UNB)- It is not about a single tube- well that would go out of order and could be fixed soon. Imagine a village dependent on groundwater, where one day residents wake up to find not 1, 10, or 20 but rather 2,000 tube-wells together have been rendered useless to the task of lifting water.