Rawal Lake’s Water Declared Unfit for Human Consumption

The untreated water samples of Rawal lake collected by Capital Development Authority (CDA) and analyzed at Water Quality Control Cell, Central Engineering Laboratory (MQC) Directorate Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) were reported unfit for human consumption due to presence of certain bacterias.

Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), a Research and Development (R&D) organization working under the aegis of Ministry of Science and Technology, collected water samples from Rawal lake during the fish mortality crisis in the lake and analyzed those samples in its National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL).

The water in Rawal lake was found unfit for drinking purposes due to presence of turbidity and bacterial contamination. However, the water sample taken on the same date after treatment by water and sanitation agency (WASA), was analyzed at NWQL and PCRWR which found it fit for human consumption, an official of PCRWR informed the media.

The raw water always has contamination which is being treated before distribution, a spokesperson of PRCWR informed when asked.

She said solid waste, germs, bacteria, micro biological contaminations and solid waste management are found in lake water. But the water is being treated properly through purification plants removing all impurities making it fit for consumption which is then distributed to the capital city.

However, she added there is a dire need to educate people not to throw solid waste in the streams and that the water entering the lake should be treated before it merges with Rawal lake to secure aquatic life and the health of people from nearby communities who use the untreated water for swimming or washing purposes.