Pakistan faces water scarcity

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Pakistan is facing acute water scarcity, with falling water levels in many parts of the country, local media and experts warned.

Rawal Lake, an artificial reservoir that provides water to the capital Islamabad and the adjacent city of Rawalpindi, has dried up.

The lake, spread out over 8.8 kilometers (5.5 miles), gets its water supply from River Korang, in eastern Punjab province.

"The water level in the lake is entirely dependent on River Korang and currently there is no water due to reduction in the amount of rain in the country," said Irfan Shah, a local lake administration official.

I hope the monsoon season will start next month and the lake fills up again, he added.

Residents of the capital are facing groundwater shortage and most wells have dried up in the G sector. Islamabad is divided into various sectors for the purpose of administration.

"Our well has dried up and now we buy water for use in the house," said Sultan Khan, a resident of the locality.

Many residents dig wells in their houses to obtain groundwater that can be used when there is a shortage of water in the city.

Experts believe the situation will improve once the monsoon season begins next month.

"Monsoon season in Pakistan hopefully will start from the end of July and water levels will rise after rains," said Mushtaq Shah, director of the Meteorological Department.

He added that the coming season will bring lots of rain, even though last year a dry spell hit the country.

National crisis

Water levels in Islamabad are falling by one meter every year and six meters in the southwestern Baluchistan province.

Also, water levels in 26 out of 43 lakes in the country have dropped drastically in the past few years, Dawn, a local newspaper, reported, quoting Indus River System Authority officials.

Experts have warned the country may become a water-scarce country as per capita water availability has sharply declined from 5,000 cubic meters to 1,000 cubic meters due to inadequate storage and population growth.

"This is an alarming situation as per capita water is currently between 900 to 1,000 cubic meters and it would further reduce due to climate changes and lack of planning," said Wali Yousafzai, an Islamabad-based water resources expert.

Last week, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) chief requested the upper house of parliament take practical steps to overcome the current situation.

"The country needs to narrow the gap between the growing population and its needs, and increase the number of water reservoirs. We need the parliamentarians' help to overcome this alarming issue," Muzammil Hussain, WAPDA chairman, told the Senate last week.

In April, Pakistan approved its first-ever national water policy and announced it will spend 10 percent of the federal public sector development program's budget on the water sector, to increase to 20 percent by 2030.

Under the new policy, the water losses, currently estimated at 46 million acre feet (MAF), would be reduced by 33 percent over next 12 years.

Also, new dams including the Diamer-Basha dam would be constructed in the country's north.

Pakistan can only store water for 30 days.