Reverse Osmosis System

Drinking Water Supply through desalination of Surface Water (Bhairab River) with Reverse Osmosis System.

Two-third of the world is water. But 97% water is saline. People are to depend on only 1% of the total water  for drinking, cooking and other uses. Bangladesh is also surrounded with water. Upto now people  are using ground water. Water table are being lowering day by day. Arsenic is the great problem also. So, people should use surface water to mitigate the crisis.

Khulna City Corporation is the third largest urban city of the country with 1.5 million people. The city corporation falls under the zero impact zone of Sundarban. Being a coastal city Khulna City Corporation is struggling to ensure drinkable water supply to its citizen mainly due to unavailability of drinkable ground water source. The city can not use treated surface water due to high salinity in coastal surface water.

The new project propose a technological solution of purifying surface saline water by using the Reverse Osmosis technology and introducing a community led water distribution system through the CDCs created under UPPR (Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction) program under the leadership of Khulna City Corporation.

Now a days water and sanitation is accepted as basic livelihood option. By providing pure drinking water from surface saline water at a nominal cost of Tk. 0.20 per liter, the project will ensure more time availability for men and women to earn for the family. At the same time reduced water borne diseases will reduce expenditure on health and more illness free working days for the earning member of the family that ensures more income for the family. Hence the present intervention will contribute very positively towards poverty alleviation.

Bhairab River is a big surface water source, for City Corporation. It cannot be used due to high salinity. One reverse osmosis system has been installed as pilot basis. Peoples are getting saline free water from here. If this project becomes success, other big projects will be established. Then the pressure on ground water will be reduced.

The Reverse Osmosis machine will produce 8000 liters of water in eight working hours per day. Half of the water i.e. 4000 liters will be bottled in 20 liters bottles and be sold at Tk. 20/- per bottle in well-to-do families and commercial enterprises like restaurants, fast food shops and offices. Each day the filled in bottles will be replaced. The bottles will be cleaned, refilled and sealed in a built in semi-automatic plant with the Reverse Osmosis machine.

The rest 4000 liters will be supplied to poor CDC members. For the poor CDC members the cost of each liter of water will be Tk. 0.10/- only. Arrangement will be made to supply 4 liters of drinking water to each member of each family. The families will pay for their consumed water at the end of the month. Exceptionally poor person and very senior members of the community will get water free of cost. The Project Implementation Committee will decide who will get free water.