Water Treatment Plant’s Gains Subverted by Tainted Pipelines

For the last month, Phnom Penh’s new water treatment plant on the Chroy Chungva peninsula has been producing clean, pure water that is safe to drink.

But unless you live within 100 meters of the facility, don’t even think about taking a sip.

“At a distance of about 100 meters from the plant, the water is 100 percent potable,” Municipal Water Authority Deputy Director-General Long Naro said.

But as the water travels farther away through old, broken and unsafe pipes, Long Naro said, it is probable it becomes contaminated with unhealthy organisms and other substances.

The new treatment plant is a computerized state-of-the-art facility turning murky Mekong river water into clean water that meets international standards in about an hour. Technicians say the Me­kong may be muddy, but its water is actually fairly clean, since there are few large settlements and not much industry along its upper reaches.

The plant is to be officially inaugurated in late June or early July, said Long Naro, and will supply water to the districts of Tuol Kok, Daun Penh, Prampi Makara, Chamkar Mon and parts of Meanchey.

Officials are planning to replace the old, damaged water pipes by the end of 2003, though it may take from three to five years to install water-monitoring equipment to ensure that water remains pure as it travels through the city.

Long Naro said the city is not wor­ried about people drinking water from unsafe pipes in the mean­time. “Our people have a culture not to drink this water. They don’t believe in its quality,” he said.

Seng Sopha, a Tuol Kok resident, agreed with that assessment. “I never drink that water” unless it is boiled to kill organisms that cause diarrhea, he said.

Seng Sopha has seen with his own eyes that the pipes carrying the water are not sanitary. “My family uses [piped] water for showers, washing, and sometimes cooking, not for drinking at all,” he said.

 

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