As Bangladesh’s capital grapples with explosive urban growth, its water authority is resorting to emergency groundwater pumping while long-promised surface-water schemes remain years behind schedule.
The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Dhaka WASA) is preparing to launch a Tk 920.85 crore (roughly US$75 million) emergency project to pump an extra 57 crore litres of groundwater per day into the city’s thirsty pipes. The initiative, titled “Emergency Water Supply in Dhaka City,” is scheduled to run from January 2026 to June 2030. It has been placed before Bangladesh’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council for approval.
Dhaka, the bustling capital of Bangladesh, is home to more than 20 million people and one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities. Its water demand already stands at about 320 crore litres a day and is projected to climb to 360 crore litres by 2029 as the population swells and new apartment blocks and industries spring up. At present, 70 per cent of that supply comes from deep tube wells tapping underground aquifers. The new project would push that dependence even higher.
Stalled Surface-Water Projects Create Urgent Shortfall
The emergency measure arrives precisely because two flagship surface-water treatment plants – designed to wean Dhaka off groundwater – are behind schedule. The Gandharbpur Water Treatment Plant (Phase 1) is only about 50 per cent complete after a decade of work. The Saidabad Water Treatment Plant (Phase 3) has progressed just 20 per cent. Together, the two schemes were supposed to add nearly 95 crore litres of treated river water daily, offering a more sustainable alternative to the city’s rapidly depleting aquifers.
Instead, chronic delays have left a widening supply gap. WASA officials argue they have no choice but to act quickly. Abdul Majid, the project’s focal person, described the initiative as “both interim and essential.” Without additional water during this transitional period, he warned, the crisis could worsen dramatically. The plan includes replacing 388 old deep tube wells, installing 62 new ones, regenerating 280 wells, rehabilitating 60 others, building 44 iron-removal plants and 250 pump houses, and expanding pipelines and electrical systems across 361 square kilometres of Dhaka North and South city corporations. A modern Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system will also be introduced for real-time monitoring.
A feasibility study conducted by the Institute of Water Modelling gives the project a benefit-cost ratio of 1.34 and an internal rate of return of 18.91 per cent, suggesting it makes economic sense in the short run. Yet the numbers mask deeper structural problems.
Experts Slam ‘Self-Defeating’ Strategy
Urban planners and former WASA leaders are far less optimistic. Prof Adil Mohammed Khan, an urban planner, called the move “self-defeating.” “WASA’s stated goal for years has been to reduce dependence on groundwater,” he said, “yet here we are returning to large-scale extraction while major surface-water projects languish.” He pointed out that the water table beneath Dhaka has already fallen sharply – by roughly one metre per year in recent times – driving up pumping costs and risking long-term geological damage.
Ghulam Mostafa, former chairman of WASA, echoed the concern. He noted that warnings about over-extraction date back to 2009-10. “Public money is being wasted because of delays in the big projects,” he said. “These repeated interim fixes only increase costs and harm the environment.”
Critics argue the emergency project merely prolongs an unsustainable cycle. By the time the new wells are operational, the surface-water plants may still not be ready, forcing yet another round of stopgap spending. The feasibility study itself acknowledges that completing the stalled projects on time would have avoided the need for such emergency intervention.
Long-Term Water Security at Risk
Dhaka’s water story is emblematic of a broader challenge facing many rapidly urbanising cities in the Global South. Surface water from the surrounding rivers is abundant but requires expensive treatment to remove pollutants. Groundwater, once seen as clean and convenient, is now both over-exploited and increasingly contaminated in parts of the city. The new project includes iron-removal plants precisely because many aquifers are becoming harder to treat.
If approved, the emergency scheme will provide temporary relief to millions of households, businesses and industries. It will also generate jobs during construction and upgrade ageing infrastructure. Yet without a firm commitment to finish the Gandharbpur and Saidabad plants, Dhaka risks locking itself into ever-deeper groundwater dependence at precisely the moment climate change and population pressure are making water security more precarious.
WASA insists the emergency project is not a replacement for surface-water schemes but a bridge until they are complete. Whether that bridge leads to genuine sustainability or simply buys more time for further delays remains an open question, experts say.
