Can You Drink Tap Water in Bangladesh?

Tap water in Bangladesh is not safe to drink anywhere in the country, including in the capital Dhaka. Bangladesh faces some of the most severe water safety challenges in South Asia. Dhaka's water supply is managed by DWASA (Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority) but the system is severely strained by the city's enormous population — Dhaka is one of the most densely populated cities on earth — and aging infrastructure that cannot keep pace with rapid urbanisation. Water treatment is insufficient, distribution pipes are aging and often cross-contaminated with sewage lines, and supply is intermittent across much of the city.

In addition to bacterial and viral contamination, Bangladesh faces a severe arsenic contamination crisis in its groundwater. An estimated 20 million or more Bangladeshis are exposed to arsenic above safe limits through groundwater-fed tube wells, particularly in rural areas. While Dhaka's piped supply is surface-water based and less affected by arsenic, the issue is widespread in rural and peri-urban areas and is one of the largest mass arsenic poisoning events in history. Travelers in rural Bangladesh should be particularly vigilant about water sources.

In Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, and other cities, international hotels and business-class accommodation provide bottled or filtered water. Bottled water is widely available in urban areas. In Cox's Bazar — Bangladesh's main beach resort area and home to the world's longest natural sandy beach — bottled water is available at hotels and shops throughout the tourist strip.

In the Sundarbans mangrove region, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and other rural areas, water infrastructure is very limited. Travelers on boat tours through the Sundarbans or trekking in the hill tracts must carry sufficient bottled water or reliable filtration equipment as resupply is not guaranteed in remote areas.