If everyone chooses to take a shower, there won’t be much water left for the rest of the day.
Residents of Mohammadpur do not always have access to the luxury of a cold shower to provide relief from the heat during a severe heat wave that has seen temperatures in the capital reach a record-breaking over 40 degrees Celsius.
The sparsely populated Mohammadpur region is not the only place where water is scarce.
On Monday, many parts of the capital felt drier than usual due to a water shortage, including Shekertek, Badda, Banasree, Rayerbazar, Shanir Akhra, Dania, Jatrabari, Rampura, Mirpur, and other areas.
Even though many are familiar with the situation, the heat wave has actually made matters worse.
According to a Dhaka Wasa official, a supply of about 250 crore liters of water could satisfy the demand, but as of right now, even the maximum amount of 270 crore liters is proving insufficient.
As a result, some areas have made the unpopular decision to ration water.
The Business Standard was informed by Hasina Begum that the Shewrapara neighborhood of Mirpur has been without regular water supply for the past week.
When most of the work needs to be completed quickly in the morning, the water supply is almost normal.
This is challenging during the month of Ramadan because households also require water after iftar, she said.
Due to the lack of water at their homes, many Rayerbazar residents have started going elsewhere, particularly to nearby mosques, to get water.
They are compelled to purchase the much more expensive bottled water when that is not an option.
The issue, according to the locals, has been present for the past two years, but it got worse during Ramadan.
They claimed that even contacting the WASA executive engineer or deputy chief officer did not elicit a response.
AKM The Business Standard was informed by Shahid Uddin, director (Technical), Dhaka WASA, that the capital’s demand for water has increased as a result of the extreme heat.
“As far as I’m aware, the Shekertek region is experiencing a water shortage. We wanted to put in deep tubewells there, but there wasn’t room for them, he said.
He claimed that because the population of the capital is growing every year, their pumps cannot keep up with the demand.
“We are now supplying 265 to 270 crore litres of water per day, but the demand is higher,” he said.
Additionally, he claimed that during the summer, the underground water level dropped by two to three feet and that various pumps were using excessive amounts of energy.
In addition, Shahid claimed that the heat wave had caused people to take showers two to three times daily rather than just once, using up even more water.
Everyone should use water sparingly and only as needed, he advised.
About 920 pumps are used in Dhaka, according to data from Dhaka Wasa.
The daily water production capacity of Dhaka Wasa is about 270 crore liters.
Out of this, treatment facilities produce 91 crore liters, and deep tube wells produce the remaining 179 crore liters.
The demand, which typically ranges between 210 and 240 crore liters per day, has increased because of the extreme heat.
The population and demand are growing, according to Dhaka WASA officials, while the level of underground water is decreasing. As a result, numerous water pumps have suffered damage. There is frequently not enough room to install pumps.
In addition, load shedding has reduced water production and supply. The installation of new water lines is being done in various locations, which could be the root of the water shortage.