Access to water and awareness about the unsafe water in rural Bangladesh

Introduction: Access to drinking water is a fundamental concern for many countries, including Bangladesh. Drinking of unsafe water might result to cause diseases and illness which heightens the economic burden for every one by increasing the treatment costs and work days lost. In Bangladesh, rural households coupled with the lack of safe water, also faces water-contamination with arsenic and other pollutants. Objective: This study explores the status of the rural people in accessing the water for households. It also determines their knowledge regarding the contaminated water. Methodology: The current study used retrospective data from Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee’s (BRAC) Research and Evaluation Division’s baseline survey which was initiated under the ‘water, sanitation and hygiene’ program. Data was taken from 16,052 households between November 2006 and June 2007. Descriptive statistics were used to report the study findings. Results: Approximately 67% of the households had a permanent water source and majority had their deep tube well. A major proportion of the household respondent (70%) identified the method properly to purify polluted water. About 41% households used tube well as a source of water for daily purposes, i.e., drinking, cooking, washing utensils, and bathing. Majority (85%) of the households were found to pay willingly for a good source of water. Households with the non-governmental organization (NGO) membership were willing to pay even more for the safe water as compared to households without NGO membership. Conclusion: Respondents had considerable knowledge and awareness concerning the contaminated water. The association of NGO membership and level of awareness presented in this study should be of particular interest to the policy makers.