The Latent Crisis: A Silent Question
After prolonged rainfall, the skies have finally cleared and sunlight has returned. Yet behind this calm, another crisis is quietly gathering—the growing scarcity of safe drinking water.
Winter is approaching, and groundwater levels are steadily declining. The signs are already clear that the crisis could become far more severe next summer. In most deep tube wells across Cox’s Bazar, water is increasingly contaminated with iron and salinity. Rising tourist numbers during winter will put further pressure on groundwater. By March or April, the situation could become alarming. For marginalised communities, the streams and natural water bodies they depend on may also dry up completely.
According to Cox’s Bazar Municipality and the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), groundwater levels in the coastal region are falling by around 10–12 feet every year. A decade ago, safe drinking water could be found at around 150 feet. Today, even at depths of 1,200–1,500 feet, good-quality water is increasingly difficult to find. Climate change could further increase salinity in coastal areas by 25–30 percent, potentially rendering many existing tube wells unfit for drinking.
The Bakkhali River water treatment project offers some hope. Funded by the Emergency Assistance Project (EAP), the plant has a capacity of 1,000 cubic metres per hour and could supply around two to 2.4 crore litres of treated water daily. Yet this will not be enough to meet the needs of Cox’s Bazar Municipality, let alone the more than 2.9 million people across the district. An estimated 1–1.2 million people still face water shortages.
The way forward is clear. More water treatment plants must be established urgently. Automated desalination plants could provide an effective solution for coastal communities. Hotels, tourist facilities and Rohingya camps must strengthen measures to prevent water wastage. Rivers, canals and the sea must be kept free of pollution, while natural water bodies should be brought under proper government protection and maintenance.
Ultimately, however, the responsibility is ours. Residents and tourists alike must stop wasting water. This crisis is not solely a product of nature; it is also the consequence of poor management, excessive consumption and negligence.
Will we act before it is too late? Or will the crisis we have helped create push us into an abyss from which there may be no way back?
That is the silent question before our collective conscience.
By Salam Abu
Editor
