The salinity of Khulna’s rivers and canals is increasing day by day. This is making the water in the reservoirs unfit for use. Salinity is also increasing in agricultural lands. As a result, crop production is decreasing. Due to climate change, rising sea levels and reduced water flow from upstream, the excess of salt water is increasing. This has created a fear of a longer drought season. To overcome this situation, the Local Government Department has taken the initiative to ensure safe water in the region through surface water supply and expand piped water supply. For this purpose, the government has undertaken a project worth approximately $300 million (Tk 2,500 crore).
Planning Commission sources stated that if this project is implemented, it will be possible to ensure a safe and adequate supply of drinking water to the people of the Khulna region through pipelines throughout the year. This project will work especially to resolve the drinking water crisis in areas affected by salinity. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of about $218 million (Tk 1,821 crore) out of the project cost. The project will be raised in the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) next Sunday for approval. It is learnt that Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus will preside over the meeting. If the ECNEC gets final approval, Khulna WASA will implement the project between July 2025 and June 2030.
The project aims to improve the existing water supply system through surface water supply to ensure safe and adequate water supply in Khulna city during the drought season and to expand the coverage of supply in areas where there is no piped water supply. Under this, pipeline water supply services will be expanded in the existing and expanded areas of Khulna City Corporation. At the same time, the capacity of the surface water treatment plant and surface water reservoir will be increased. This will make it possible to ensure full water supply during the dry season.
According to the commission, this project of the Local Government Department will develop technological developments to ensure quality water supply throughout the year. In particular, the use of modern equipment and smart monitoring systems will improve water supply and increase the capacity of Khulna WASA employees to operate a modern water supply system.
Project Background – Khulna WASA is currently producing water from the existing surface water treatment plant and tube wells.
Groundwater meets 100% of the needs of customers. But in the Khulna region, during the drought season (April and May), due to the adverse effects of climate change and natural disasters, salinity occurs in the water of the Madhumati River. At present, Khulna WASA can supply safe water from the Madhumati River for about 10 months. However, due to climate change, the normal safe water supply is disrupted for two months of the year (April and May). During this time, the acceptable salinity limit increases from 600 milligrams per liter to 2,600 milligrams. As a result, it is not possible to provide adequate safe water of the desired quality to the people of Khulna. The project has been proposed by Khulna WASA with the aim of providing safe water throughout the year for the people living in Khulna metropolis. The project area will be implemented in Khulna City Corporation and Rupsha Upazila of Khulna district and Mollahat Upazila of Bagerhat district.
The rationale for the selection of the area is that Khulna city is spread over an area of 45.65 square kilometers. As 3 more new police stations, Luanchara, Harintana and Aranghata, have been included in the Khulna metropolitan area, the area has been selected with the aim of bringing the expanded area under the scope of water supply through pipelines and providing safe water throughout the year to the areas already supplied with water. The project is included in the list of unauthorized new projects to facilitate foreign financing in the Annual Development Program (ADP) for the fiscal year 2025-26.
