RWASA embarks on smart water management system

Rajshahi Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (RWASA) has persistently been working with the vision of establishing a sustainable and smart water management system through ensuring transparency, accountability, integrity and participation of all stakeholders .

RWASA Managing Director Sultan Abdul Hamid revealed this while presiding over the opening session of a daylong introductory workshop styled "Integrating in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (In WASH) Services" at Rajshahi city hotel on Wednesday.

RWASA, Water Integrity Network (WIN), Centre of Entrepreneurship Water and Sanitation (CEWAS) and NGO Forum for Public Health jointly organized the workshop with the main thrust of familiarizing the participants with the In WASH process and its components, reports BSS.

RWASA Deputy Managing Directors Amirul Islam and Tuhinur Alam, Network and Communication Officer of WIN Germany Tasneem Balasinorwala, Project Manager of CEWAS Switzerland Celia Schmidt, Project Focal Person of NGO Forum Kazi Monir Mosharof and its Integrity Management Coach Nazrul Haque and Regional Manager Rabiul Haque addressed the opening ceremony. Development of a common vision and objectives for the In WASH process along with providing guidance on data collection and planning of the next steps were the allied objectives of the workshop.

Sultan Hamid told the meeting that the RWASA will ensure friendly customer services besides promoting sustainable environment friendly water management system and smart efficient office management in near future. He said improving efficiency, applying effective technology and reduce the water generation cost are missions of the public utility service organization and it's now in a position of implementing the projects in proper time".

"So far, we have brought 73.28 percent of Rajshahi city's total 5.52 lakh population under the water supply coverage," said Sultan Hamid. RWASA sources said, currently, 7.78-crore litres of water are beingextracted through 96 deep tube wells in all 30 wards under Rajshahi City Corporation daily against the total demand of 11.33 crore litres.

Besides, the RWASA is going to implement a mega project aiming at supplying safe drinking water for the city dwellers under a project titled "RWASA Surface water Treatment" that will be implemented with an estimated cost of Taka 4,150 crore to remove the existing water supply related problems.

Under the project, 26.5-kilometer main pipelines, 48-kilometer primary and secondary pipelines would be installed for ensuring a strong water supply network. Taking part in three separate group discussions, RWASA engineers and officials concerned put forward a set of recommendations on how to attain all objectives of the workshop.