Alternative Drinking Water Source in a Coastal District of Bangladesh: The Case of Pond Sand Filter

An alternative drinking water source is a burning issue for the coastal regions of Bangladesh. Available water bodies are becoming increasingly saline due to the incessant intrusion of saline water into the surface water. It is a direct effect of global climate change and human-induced illegal activities. During the 1990s, the UNDP suggested PSF as one of the best alternatives for drinking water sources in the saline-prone coastal regions of Bangladesh. To this day, the program continues in various coastal areas of Bangladesh. This study focused on the people’s perception of PSF as an alternative safe water source in the Khulna district. To do so, initial information was collected from Research Gate, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Wiley Online Library. To conduct the research, a mixed-methods approach was employed. To collect the required quantitative data, a stratified sampling technique was applied to reach various categories of respondents. The minimum sample size obtained following the sample chart given by Sekaran and Bougie (2016). Additionally, qualitative data were collected through Key Informant Interviews (KII). The data collection period spanned from November 2023 to January 2024. The mixed data support the study's rationale vividly through statistical evidence, which also supports the KII results. The results of the research will contribute to understanding the ground reality of installing PSF, as per feedback from the beneficiary group. The results also support the partial ground data to inform the development of a national policy ensuring safe water for coastal populations.