The Department of Public Health Engineering is the national lead agency for provision of drinking water supply and waste management in the country excepting Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chittagong cities where WASAs operate.

With the challenges generated by the discovery of arsenic in incremental areas since its first detection in 1993, DPHE with its development partners is trying to ameliorate the sufferings caused by the lack of safe water. Alternative options for safe water supply are being catered in worse affected areas.

Similarly for excreta and other waste management DPHE is implementing different projects to achieve an improved environment.

The report documents the financial outlay, the achievement, issues and lessons learnt and challenges ahead so that the concerned are benefited and able to contribute better for the improvement of the sector.
Local governments, urban and rural, are involved in the delivery of WSS services.

   Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Status in Bangladesh

In recent past, 97% of the people had access to safe water within 150 meters. With the discovery of arsenic in groundwater, the coverage has come down to about 75%. However, alternative options are being implemented for supply of arsenic safe water.

The sanitation coverage showed a dismal figure. Only about 20% people use sanitary latrines in the rural areas. And an additional 35% rural people use homemade pit latrines.

The coverages of WSS in urban areas though balanced, are not satisfactory and are a little above 50%.

The technological options in rural water supply are Shallow Tubewells, Deep Tubewells, Tara Tubewells, Pond Sand Filters, Rainwater Harvesters, Ring wells, Infiltration galleries depending on natural water quality and hydro-geological conditions.

The urban water supply adopts piped water supply with deep tubewells in core areas and handpumps tubewells in the fringes. There are several surface water treatment plants also.

For sanitation simple pit latrines, water seal latrines (single, double), offset pit latrines, septic tanks etc. are being used. About 30% of Dhaka City only enjoys conventional water borne sewerage system in the country.