Is Tap Water Safe to Drink in Bangladesh?

Dhaka WASA (Water Supply and Sewerage Authority) draws from the Buriganga, Sitalakhya, and Meghna rivers and deep tube wells. Treatment plants at Saidabad and Chandnighat use conventional processes. Outside Dhaka, most of the population relies on shallow or deep tube wells tapping the Bengal aquifer system.

Arsenic contamination of shallow tube wells is a major public health crisis — affecting an estimated 20–40 million people, particularly in southern and western districts. Dhaka’s treated water is often recontaminated in the distribution network by sewage intrusion, leaking joints, and illegal connections. Fecal coliforms frequently exceed WHO limits at the tap.

Dhaka and Chittagong have piped supply but neither is safe to drink without additional treatment. Rural areas in Comilla, Jessore, and Khulna districts face severe arsenic risks from shallow wells. Sylhet and the northeast generally have lower arsenic levels. The Sundarbans region has salinity issues due to tidal intrusion.

Variable; typically 150–350 mg/L in Dhaka, higher in coastal regions where saline intrusion increases dissolved minerals..

Most urban Bangladeshis boil water or use home filtration. Rural households commonly drink tube well water directly, though arsenic-awareness programs are expanding the use of deep tube wells and filters.

• •Always drink bottled, boiled, or filtered water throughout Bangladesh
• •Avoid ice in drinks unless made from purified water
• •If using tube well water in rural areas, test for arsenic first
• •Carry a reliable portable filter or purification tablets when traveling outside cities

• •Never drink unfiltered tap or tube well water
• •Test tube well water for arsenic in rural areas before use
• •Use bottled water for brushing teeth