**1. Introduction**

Living creatures on this earth need water as an essential element. Almost 70% of the human body is made up of water. Access to clean drinking water is not merely required for human existence but is also considered one of the basic human rights [1]. However, the manifestation of several organic and inorganic toxins, such as pesticides, phenol, chlordane, arsenic fluoride, nitrate, copper, etc., cause the population to consume poor quality water, which is perilous to their health [2]. According to UNICEF and the WHO, all over the world, approximately 2.2 billion people lack access to clean and innocuous drinking water sources. However, about 2 billion people live in high-water-stress countries [3]. According to the WHO, by 2025, almost half of the entire world's population will be forced to live in areas with scarce water sources. Moreover, 6.8 billion individuals worldwide have access

**Citation:** Aziz, A.; Akram, K.; Abrar ul Haq, M.; Hawaldar, I.T.; Rabbani, M.R. Examining the Role of Clean Drinking Water Plants in Mitigating Drinking Water-Induced Morbidity. *Sustainability* **2022**, *14*, 9644. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su14159644

Academic Editor: Marc A. Rosen

Received: 9 May 2022 Accepted: 1 August 2022 Published: 5 August 2022

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to basic drinking water services, while 785 million people around the globe lack access to these services [4].

Contaminated drinking water poses a serious threat to human life across the world. Diseases transmitted due to drinking contaminated water include cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, and dysentery [5]. Waterborne diseases, especially diarrhea, kill approximately one million people globally, and, mostly, children under five years of age are at a higher risk of diarrhea [6]. According to estimates by the World Bank [6], all over the world, because of diarrhea, a well-known disease allied with poor quality of drinking water, about 2.5–3.5 million people are infected, while 485,000 die yearly. Moreover, almost 80 percent of children annually become water-related syndrome victims. Several non-diarrheal illnesses are also associated with the unavailability of adequate and safe drinking water sources. Numerous chemicals (i.e., organic and inorganic) also have an adversative effect on human health in several diseases such as cancer, vomiting, skin rashes, and nausea [6]. Contaminated water causes about 4% of all deaths and 7.5% of all illnesses worldwide [7].

Similarly, in Pakistan, sources of clean drinking water are diminishing swiftly, and drinking water quality is viewed as a grave issue [8]. Poor and indecorous arrangements of the water supply and sewage ejection systems result in the sewage and mess being directly released into drains which ultimately flows into the sea, rivers, or canals and adversely damages water quality [9]. According to a World Bank report [6], 64 percent of Pakistan's population lacks access to clean and innocuous drinking water sources. Only 36 percent of Pakistan's population has access to safely managed and clean drinking water. Therefore, the environmental performance index ranked Pakistan at 140 out of 180 countries regarding safe water and sanitation. Moreover, a report by the World Bank highlighted that 25 percent of the total population in Pakistan is at high risk of consuming arseniccontaminated water [6]. Pakistan is among the top 10 countries that lack access to clean drinking water, where rich people have more access to safe drinking water sources than poor households [9].

Likewise, the public faces problems regarding access to safe and suitable drinking water in Pakistan. Pollution of drinking water causes a greater threat to Pakistan's public health. Out of 122 nations, Pakistan is in 80th place in terms of following the drinking water quality standards [10]. According to the World Bank report [6], about 53,000 children die annually in Pakistan due to severe diarrhea or waterborne illness. Moreover, drinking contaminated water infected 4 out of 10 children in the country [6]. Moreover, from 2010 to 2019, approximately 250,000 deaths occurred in Pakistan due to drinking contaminated water [11]. Additionally, arsenic, a hazardous pollutant and chemical, has been cited as a key cause of waterborne diseases in several areas of the country. The high level of arsenic in drinking water endangered the health of more than 60 million inhabitants, especially in Punjab, Pakistan [12].

To cope with this problem, the local government has instigated a platform to install safe drinking water filtration plants in each city in Pakistan. The reason for the installation of these plants is to meet the Millennium Development Goal (M.D.G.) by delivering nontoxic drinking water to the public by the end of 2030 [13]. To attain this tenacity, the government of Pakistan, in the middle of 2005, instigated an initiative termed the Clean Drinking Water Initiative (CDWI) to fix about 452 WPEPs (Water Purification Filtration Plants) practically in every tehsil of the Punjab province. Conversely, instead of enormous exertions to provide access to safe drinking water from WPFPs, the community is still facing several problems, for instance, a long-time shutdown of plants due to huge load shedding or closure of plants during holidays, and the non-functionality of a few plants because of a lack of supervision [14].
