Safe drinking water is an elusive goal. In Kabul, the capital city, underground water levels are seriously polluted.
Soraya Daleel, the caretaker minister of health, says:
Soraya Daleel, the caretaker minister of health, says: “A new survey by the ministry shows about half the population of the country does not have access to clean water.” The rural areas are the worst affected. The poor water quality is the root cause of widespread water-related diseases.
Mohammad Nayeem Tookhi, director of the hydrology department in the Ministry of Mines, says only a third of Kabul’s residents who live in areas connected to the water supply network receive safe drinking water.
He told Killid in an interview, “Seventy percent of people in Kabul draw water from uncovered wells and pumps. The water is unclean.”
Mohammad Nayeem Iqrar, dean of geology faculty at the Kabul University, says the figures are at best conjectures. There is neither research nor accurate surveys on how many of the capital city’s 5 million people have access to clean water.
The most common estimate of the numbers of people with access to safe water is between 28 and 30 percent, asserts Iqrar. “This is the standard estimation of water provided by the water supply net work, from covered wells, hand pumps. But no one has researched whether this water is clean or not.” The government is more concerned with political issues and not with basic needs of people, he says.
Child mortality
The polluted water is a major reason for diarrhoea deaths among children and the high child mortality figures.
Kazem Homayoon, environmental expert, says: “In my opinion all water of Kabul is polluted. There is lead in underground water.”
Ghulam Sakhi Kargar Noroghli, spokesman of the Ministry of Public Health, does not deny the high child mortality from the easily preventable problem of diarrhoea.
The city water supply network is available to only 52,000 families, says Engineer Dad Mohammad Baheer, director general of the water distribution company. “Work is going on in two other projects which will cover 15,000 families,” he adds.
The problem of water pollution has been compounded by the sharp rise in the city’s population, the setting up of small factories that spew untreated wastes into the Kabul River and drains, and a general lack of sanitation. Kabul city authorities have been turning a blind eye.
Engineer Tookhi cites the example of the Kabul River, which is the recharging source of the city’s groundwater. The river itself is severely polluted by rubbish, unexploded materials, open latrines, for instance, he says. Most families use pits without septic tanks as latrines, he adds.
Dad Mohammad Baheer, director of Water Supply and Canalisation, rues the fact that deep wells have been bored “next to” latrines. Baheer claims his hands are tied by lack of funds. “If we were to invest only in Kabul canalization (network of drinking water pipes) we would need at least 400 million dollars. Kabul does not have a proper system of piped water.” According to him, donors have turned down his department’s requests for financial assistance. “When we ask the donors for help they say to us that you should first pay attention to (safe) water then to canalization.”
Though the authorities in the canalisation department complain they are cash strapped, a scrutiny of their annual expenses reveals that only 3 percent of the budget was spent in the first nine months of last year.
Blame game
Baheer says the Ministry of Mines has done nothing to stop the digging of wells. “It is the duty of the Ministry of Mines to prevent the haphazard digging by so many people in Dasht Barchi and Deh Khudaidad area.”
The Ministry of Mines says people have every right to find their own sources of water. Engineer Tookhi of the mines ministry says, “Clause 38 of the Water Law says that digging of deep wells is allowed by permission of Ministry of Mines. However when these are deep wells for drinking water, people can do it without permission.”
Environmentalist Kazem Homayoon pins the blame on the government. “The responsible authorities ignore the crisis. The ground water is undrinkable.” He points to the sudden proliferation of car washing services in the city. “Does anyone care what happens to the waste engine oil for instance,” he asks.
Ghulam Hasan Amiri, director of climate change in the environment protection department, admits there are no standards for water.
Piped water
Sultan Mahmood Mahmoodi, director of water management in the Ministry of Water and Energy says, says they are trying to provide safe water for Kabul residents through the implementation of two projects that will bring water from dams at Shah Toot (10 kms south of Kabul) and Gulbahar in Tange Panjshir.
Kazem Homayoon advises the authorities to implement more projects of bringing water from outside to Kabul residents. Also, Kabul city should be kept green with tree planting efforts. “Kabul River cannot satisfy the demands of all the city’s 5 million people,” he says.
