TDS surge at Kotri Barrage raises water quality concerns

. A sharp rise in total dissolved solids (TDS) in the Indus River at Kotri Barrage has raised concerns over deteriorating raw water quality, prompting irrigation authorities to seek urgent measures to prevent further contamination. TDS levels at the Kotri Barrage upstream point increased by 280 milligrams per litre in a single day, reaching 940mg/litre on October 1, according to water tests cited by the Kotri Barrage Division. The level is close to the World Health Organization's guideline value of 1,000mg/litre for TDS in drinking water. The Executive Engineer of Kotri Barrage Division, Jamshoro, Zafarullah Soomro, wrote an emergency letter on Thursday to the Superintending Engineer, Baghar Circle, Hyderabad, drawing attention to the deteriorating quality of raw water in the Indus at Kotri Barrage. The letter said daily water-analysis reports provided by the executive engineer of the Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation's Water Supply Treatment Division showed that TDS levels had been rising steadily. The September 30 report recorded TDS at 660mg/litre. A separate water sample collected by the assistant executive engineer of the Weir Sub-Division, Jamshoro, from the upstream side of the right-bank division wall at Kotri Barrage was tested on October 1 at the Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro.