Water crisis looms in Pakistan
By Ismat Sabir
1 April 2011 Pakistan has drawn up a National Water Strategy to meet the millennium development goals (MDG) target before 2025 and has launched a scheme to provide clean drinking water for its people by the end of 2007. But the scheme, which was launched in September 2005, shows no positive results, due to bureaucratic internal fighting among the central ministries, the provinces and the local bodies, and is far behind its schedule. Karachi: Water pollution is a big problem of the people of big cities like Karachi and Lahore that are getting more polluted water than other parts of the country. Samples of water taken from almost all over Karachi proves that nearly 90 percent of water was contaminated. It contained bacterium, agrochemical and even radiological pollution. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly 60 percent of the diseases are infectious waterborne diseases such as typhoid, polio and Hepatitis A and B. Moreover, lack of regular access to water affects household income due to these diseases. Water is supplied to Karachi from the Indus River, which carries such pollution almost from its source. The Lyari and Malir rivers are not among the main water sources of Karachi. However, around a dozen illegal hydrants along the Lyari River are supplying water through tankers to the water scarce areas, which is the most contaminated. Lahore: More than 50 percent of sewerage channels and pipelines are overloaded and remain usually blocked due to poor maintenance. Therefore, much of the sewerage overflows come into surface and mix up with drinking water channels. The cities in Pakistan are producing wastewater of about 4.43 billion cubic metres. The total wastewater going into major rivers is about 1.782 billion cubic metres. Ravi is the most polluted river not only in the country, but in the world, receiving about half of all municipal and industrial waste discharged. This is because of the Indus Basin Treaty signed with India during the Ayub era. The smallest of the five rivers of Punjab, Ravi has become a drain receiving not only the municipal and industrial waste generated by the residential colonies and factories around its banks but also the industrial and agricultural discharges from India through the Hudiara drain. Not only the private housing schemes and industrial units in and around Lahore, but also the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) are discharging sewage in this river without treating it. Lahore Cantonment Board, Lahore Cantonment Cooperative Society, Defence Housing Authority, Model Town Society, railway residential colonies, irrigation department residential colonies’ drains and several private housing colonies are discharging their sewage into the Ravi River through drains or sewage channels. The total sewage discharge of Lahore is about 1,015 cusecs of which WASA’s share is about 716 cusecs. Multan: According to a report, heavy lethal and slow poisonous compound of arsenic were found in 21 union councils of Multan and a number of schools drinking water is affecting the health of students. In Multan the arsenic level is touching 400 PPB in fresh drinking water, which is an alarming level and hazardous to human health. WHO has fixed 50 PPB for developing countries like Pakistan against arsenic resistance. Hyderabad: There are reports about finding of ‘arsenic’ and disease causing bacterial and other contaminations in drinking water being supplied to consumers in many parts of the country. There have been many situations in the recent past, including a public health emergency that occurred in Hyderabad last summer that affected hundreds of lives of the people who consumed contaminated water. … Pakistan’s current problems are the growing pollution of watercourses and aquifers. The effects of acute water scarcity are already visible across the country, therefore, comprehensive effort is required to meet the challenges that are looming ahead. …
