Cox's Bazar is the city with the longest beach in the world. Urbanization is expanding in this municipal city around tourism. The population is increasing. The demand for fresh water has also increased due to multifaceted pressure. Meanwhile, the underground water level in this district has been gradually decreasing for a decade. For this reason, there is a shortage of fresh water in coastal cities. The annual sea level is also rising due to climate change. Saltwater intrusion consequently has become evident not only in the municipal city but also in coastal areas, including Qutubdia and Maheshkhali.
According to experts, the groundwater level in Cox's Bazar city and upazilas is dropping by 10–15 feet on average every year. Earlier, water was found at a depth of 120–150 feet underground; now it is found at a depth of 300 feet. Salt water is rising through tube wells. If this continues, there will be major disasters in the future.
The Bureau of Statistics (BBS) released the final report of the Census and Household Census in December 2023. According to the report, the source of water for 97.64 percent of people in Cox's Bazar district is deep-shallow tube wells. Out of this, 0.61 percent are supplied, 0.79 percent are bottled, and 0.14 percent drink water from ponds, canals, rivers, and lakes.
Why the water level is going down
"Rainfall is less due to climate change, the temperature rises to a greater extent, and there is depletion of water bodies due to the construction of hotels and motels, residential buildings, and roads by filling up ponds, canals, and reservoirs. Such a situation occurs due to water extraction with shallow machines and excessive use of groundwater," said Shafiqul Islam, professor of the soil science department of Chittagong University.
"The environment is being adversely affected due to hill cutting. Temperature and rainfall are decreasing due to deforestation. When the water level goes down, the balance of the ecosystem is disturbed. The risk of landslides increases. The risk of groundwater contamination also increases. The cost of water extraction increases, which reduces the availability of water," he added.
According to the Forest Department, 12,200 acres of social and natural forests have been destroyed in Cox's Bazar district since the Rohingya infiltration. Expressing concern over the matter, Sharif Jamil, member secretary of the Non-Governmental Organization Dharitri Raksha Amra (Dhora), said, "Along with the felling of trees and cutting of hills, filling of agricultural land, rivers, canals, and reservoirs during the construction of various structures, the underground water level has gone down in Cox's Bazar. The situation has become more complicated."
Sharif Jameel fears that if the natural environment is not restored properly, there will be a human disaster in this area in the future.
North Nunyarchhara is located at the end of Ward No. 2 of Cox's Bazar Municipality. Maheshkhali Channel is at the north of the area, and the and the Bankkhali River is in the east. The location is right next to the river. But even though there is water around, the residents here are not suffering from drinking water. Local residents said that they collect drinking water from the well of the mosque, which is two kilometers away.
"I have been suffering from water problems for three years. The water that rises through the tubewell is also salty and contains arsenic. There is no way. I am suffering from various physical problems due to water," said housewife Jamila Begam.
Abdur Rahman (74) said that fresh water was available in that area ten years ago. However, water was not found even after going to a depth of 700 feet recently. He further said, "What I am getting now is the first level of water. Its depth is 10–15 feet; this water is polluted."
While talking to them, housewives Anjuman Ara, Shahida Begam, Runa Laila, and Rasheda Begam came forward to talk. "The 30 families here collect and drink water from the deep tubewell of the mosque, which is two kilometers away," said Anjuman.
Rasheda Begam commented, "Bathing, cooking, clothes, and furniture are getting damaged due to salty water. There are various types of skin diseases. This situation has been going on for 10–12 years. Not only in ward number 2 of the municipality, but the picture of different areas of Cox's Bazar city is the same. Water has to be bought somewhere.
There are no statistics in departments or environmentalist organizations on how much fresh water is required for the people of Cox's Bazar city daily. However, a survey showed that 3 crore liters of water are drawn daily from around 3000 deep tube wells and 30000 shallow tube wells in the city. This water meets the needs of two lakh residents and one lakh tourists.
According to the information from Cox's Bazar Municipality, 70–80 thousand gallons of water were extracted every hour from 10 wells under the municipality. But for three-four years, water extraction has come down to 35–40 thousand gallons. The extracted water is supplied to 1,040 families.
Municipal authorities informed us that out of 10 wells, three to four have good water, but the rest are closed due to a lack of underground water. The residents of the city and hotels and motels have been unable to supply water despite their demand due to this problem, which has been going on for seven-eight years during the summer season.
When asked, the mayor of the municipality, Mahbubur Rahman Chowdhury, told the Khaborer Kagoj, "The surface water treatment plant built with the financing from ADB will be launched soon. If it becomes operational, 8 million liters of fresh water will be available every 8 hours, making it 1 million liters per hour. This will solve the shortage of fresh water.
The people of Kutubdia are suffering from a shortage of fresh water. Shallow tubewells have become useless. In various unions, including North Dhurung, Dakshin Dhurung, and Lemsikhali UP, there is one tube well for every 10–20 families, but some areas do not have tube wells. On the other hand, in Maheshkhali Municipality, Kutubjom, Matarbari, and Dhalghata, the level of salinity in the water has taken a terrible shape.
In order to protect the local environment workers and the land of Kutubdia, the convenor of Kutubdia, M. Shahidul Islam, said, '"tubewell pipes have to be installed below 800 to 900 feet, and in some places, at a depth of 1,200 feet in some areas of the island. Especially since the large pilot cut canal has been filled and occupied and there is no navigable area, the salt farmers have been cultivating salt by extracting underground water with the help of pumps for three to four years.
"The shortage of fresh water is intensifying due to the cultivation of rice and salt by extracting water through deep tube wells," said Shahidul.
Sharif Jamil, Member Secretary of the Central Committee of Dhora, said, "There has been a huge crisis in water flow as a result of the arbitrary use of rivers outside and inside Bangladesh. The salinity of the coast has doubled in some areas in the last four decades.
How to solve problems
Professor Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam of Chattogram University has also taken some steps to solve the drinking water crisis. Recommendations include more plantations, stopping felling and unplanned canal filling, and urbanization.
"At first, planting more trees will have a positive impact on the climate. Rainfall will be high, and temperatures will also be under control. Secondly, unplanned urbanization should be stopped by filling canals. It can store surface water or rainwater in canals and empty spaces. It will meet the fresh water demand on the one hand, while on the other hand it will help raise the groundwater level. Thirdly, the positive impact on the environment will continue if the hill cutting is stopped," he added.
He said, 'People should be made aware of these problems. Then it will be possible to keep the underground water level of the entire district, including Cox's Bazar city, at a tolerable level. This applies not only to Cox's Bazar but also to big cities, including Dhaka and Chittagong.
