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Water Bodies and

water supply of
Pakistan

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MAJOR SOURCES OF WATER IN PAKISTAN:

Rivers:
Pakistan receives scanty rainfall which is not useful for crop cultivation.
Likewise, the contribution of underground water through lift irrigation is also
very little. Thus rivers are the only source of irrigation on which the whole
economy of Pakistan stands. The five main rivers which join most important
river of Pakistan River Indus from eastern side are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi,
Beas and Sutlej, beside three minor rivers are the Haro, Soan and Siran.
There are number of small rivers which join the River Indus from the west
side, in which biggest river is Kabul and others are Kunar, Punj, Kora. The
surface water resources of Pakistan mainly consist of flows of the Indus River
and its tributaries, which bring in about 138 million acre feet (MAF) of water
annually. The Indus River alone provides 65% of the total river flows, while
the share of Jhelum and Chenab is 17 and 19% respectively.

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Dams:
These dams control floods, provide water throughout the year, and act as a
buffer during dry season and dry years. Pakistan's national security is linked
with its food security which is directly linked with water security. What are
the benefits of dams in Pakistan? They produce Hydroelectric Power Which is
made when water passes through a dam. Dams and waterways store and
provide water for irrigation so farmers can use the water for growing crops.
Dams help in preventing floods, Drinking Water, Recreation, Transportation.
Dams are one of the most important concerns in Pakistan as they have the
potential to solve many power-related problems the country is incurring.
Dams are the best way to prevent flooding anywhere because they are the
largest infrastructure for storing water for later use. Interestingly, Pakistan
has approximately 150 dams. Most of them are in Punjab and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). The government of Pakistan has usually built dams
over rushing rivers and streams to control the flood issue, generate electricity,
and restore the problem storage and supply of water. Rawal Dam, Tarbela
Dam, Neelum-Jhelum Dam, Mangla Dam, Mirani Dam, Diamer Bhasha Dam,
Khanpur Dam, Sabakzai Dam are most important dams of Pakistan.

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Glaciers:
These glaciers are enormous reservoirs of fresh water and their melt water is
an important resource which feed rivers in Pakistan. Glacier depletion,
especially recent melting can affect agriculture, drinking water supplies,
hydro-electric power, and ecological habitats. With more than 7,253 known
glaciers, Pakistan contains more glacial ice than any other country on earth
outside the polar regions. Almost all of them are located in the northern
regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Biafo Glacier is a
67 km-long glacier situated in the Karakoram mountain range in Shigar
district, Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. The Baltoro Glacier, at 63 km in length, is
one of the longest glaciers outside the polar regions. Batura Glacier, 57 km
long, is one of the largest and longest glaciers outside of the polar regions. It
lies in the upper Hunza region of Hunza District, Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan.
It is just north of the massifs of Batura, at 7,795 meters, and Passu, at 7,500
meters. The glacier flows west to east. The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located
in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about 35.421226°N
77.109540°E, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control
between India and Pakistan ends. The Godwin-Austen Glacier is a glacier in
the Karakoram range and is close to K2, the second tallest peak on Earth, in
Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the highest mountain peak in Pakistan.

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Groundwater:
Groundwater is arguably the most poorly understood water resource in
Pakistan a country in which matters of water resources are hotly debated on a
regular basis. Groundwater has the potential to be the most reliable water
resource for Pakistan, providing a buffer against the unpredictability of
climate change and the failure of infrastructure designed to deliver surface
water. The Indus basin groundwater aquifer in Pakistan holds in storage at
least eighty times the volume of fresh water held in the country’s three biggest
dams. In the 1960s, large-scale extraction from this underground storage
began and has expanded to become an essential input to agriculture and the
backbone of domestic water provision. Yet in 2020, Pakistan is on the brink of
a lengthy and severe groundwater crisis. Pakistan lacks a comprehensive,
reliable system for measuring groundwater extractions and their impact on
the resource base. In the face of rising population, the effects of climate
change, and the considerable natural lag in groundwater response to
management interventions, the failure to tackle these challenges is already
impairing national water security and drinking water quality. It was
concluded that the lack of good-quality, long-term groundwater data in
Pakistan’s Indus basin greatly complicates the task of numerical modeling
and reduces the reliability of the results. Pakistan is the third-largest user of
groundwater for irrigation in the world. The surface water supplies are
sufficient to irrigate 27% of the area, whereas the remaining 73% is directly
or indirectly irrigated using groundwater. The Punjab province uses more
than 90% of the total groundwater abstraction. The total groundwater
extraction in Pakistan is about 60 billion m3. The access to groundwater has
helped farmers in securing food for the increasing population. Groundwater is
stored in the tiny open spaces between rock and sand, soil, and gravel. How
well loosely arranged rock (such as sand and gravel) holds water depends on
the size of the rock particles.

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Lakes:
Proper lake function can ease the impact of floods and droughts by storing
large amounts of water and releasing it during shortages. Lakes also work to
replenish groundwater, positively influence water quality of downstream
watercourses, and preserve the biodiversity and habitat of the area. Lakes
help in maintain the flow of a river. Lakes can be used for the production or
development of hydel power. They moderate the climate surroundings by
maintaining the aquatic ecosystem, by enhancing Lakes supply many
communities with water. Artificial lakes are used to store water for times of
drought. Lakes formed by dams also provide hydroelectric energy. The water
is channeled from the lake to drive generators that produce electricity. The
natural beauty and also helps in developing tourism and provide recreation.
The highest lakes in Pakistan are the Paristan Lake and Shimshal Lake,
which both are at an altitude of over 4,755 meters (15,600 ft.). The second-
highest lake in Pakistan is the Karambar Lake, which is located at an altitude
of 4,272 meters (14,016 ft.), is the 33rd highest lake in the world.

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Springs:
Springs occur when water pressure causes a natural flow of groundwater onto
the earth's surface. As rainwater enters or "recharges" the aquifer, pressure
is placed on the water already present. Garam Chashma (literally: Hot
Spring) is one of the many branch valleys of Chitral District, situated in the
extreme north-west of Pakistan. It is one of the highest human settlements in
the Hindukush ranges with an altitude of almost 2550 meters (8389 feet). Well
water is collected after drilling a hole into the ground while spring water
systems are supplied by water above ground that flows constantly via springs,
creeks or rivers.

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THE SITUATION OF WATER SUPPLY IN
MAJOR CITIES:
LAHORE:
The actual groundwater currently sits at 1,300 feet below. The groundwater
table in Lahore is currently depleting at the incredulous rate of one meter per
year. In addition to that, the province's fruit basket also appears to have a
huge problem of water wastage from lack of conservation. LAHORE city has
a population of around eight million. If the minimum water requirement of a
person is considered to be 20 liters per capita per day (LPCD) as per WHO
standards, it gives basic access as 20 LPCD, intermediate access 50 LPCD,
optimal access 100-200 LPCD. At present 160 million liters of ground water is
extracted daily via different means like hand pumps, motor pumps and tube
wells and delivered to Lahore residents through water supply schemes, water
filtration plants and water tankers. Additional water is supplied for
recreational and industrial usage. This supply of ground water is contrary to
the practice in the rest of the world where the major source of supply is
surface water i.e., rivers, canals and artificial and natural lakes. Despite the
presence of such surface sources in Lahore, supply agencies like Water and
Sanitation Agency, Public Health Engineering Department, the town
municipal administrations and Local Government and Community
Development Department are extracting water from the ground without any
restriction, and there is no government policy in this respect. According to
WASA Lahore, the ground water table depth in Lahore city has dropped by
600 feet to 1,000 feet. This is an alarming development as the water table
depth in the rest of Punjab is between 30 to 60 feet. The ratio of ground water
depletion is extremely high in Lahore region due to the high extraction, supply
and consumption of water. Other large cities in Punjab facing the same
situation are Faisalabad and Multan while the same situation also prevails in
Karachi owing to its tremendous size and humungous population, being larger
than the combined population of Denmark, Norway and Sweden! Another
alarming fact is that there is no water to be found in Lahore above 600 feet.
Any reservoir available is highly contaminated owing to the poor domestic
sewerage system and the inappropriate disposal of industrial wastewater.
Furthermore, the ground water recharge process is very low due to the large
expanse of paved areas of streets, roads and buildings. Thus Lahore and
Karachi are fast using up this precious resource at an alarming rate

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and there is no replacement of nature’s body. The government should develop
alternate water sources.

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Karachi:
INKarachi only half of the city's needs are met—the city has 550 million
gallons per day, but the population size requires 1.1 billion gallons per day.
This is unsustainable, especially considering how approximately 0.6 million
people migrate to Karachi annually. Most people living in Pakistan's second
city of Karachi do not have an access to clean water. Apart from the obvious
health problems, lack of potable water is leading to social, economic and
political difficulties as well. Two ethno-political parties staged a rally against
water shortages last June, which turned violent after police fired at the
protestors killing two and leaving six injured. The protestors set vehicles on
fire and ransacked property. The tension eased when additional water
supplies were brought in from the river Indus, the key source of water for
Karachi and the rest of the province. Karachi, with an unofficial population
figure of 15 million, needs about 600 million gallons of water per day, but the
city currently receives only about 435 million. Part of the shortfall is due to a
dilapidated water supply and sewerage infrastructure. "At most places, our
water transmission and distribution system has completed the designed
economic life. One of our field investigations reveal losses to the tune of 30 to
35 percent," a spokesman for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board
(KWSB) told IRIN. Most parts of the city are served by piped water direct to
houses, but many residents - paticularly in informal settlements - have to rely
on water supplied from communal taps. Due to overcrowding, the water
supply in many parts of the city is insufficient. "I have not received tapped
water for many years, though KWSB serve me with water tax notice
regularly," Fatima Haris, a housewife from eastern Karachi, told IRIN. She
manages to get water from a tanker, which costs her about US$ 8 a week.
Capitalizing on the current shortage, a tanker mafia has mushroomed. Apart
from 5 official hydrants allowed by the KWSB, dozens of illegal hydrants
alongside the Lyari River, which passes through the city, have emerged. These
hydrants are supplying contaminated sub-soil water from the river, into
which the city's sewage is pumped. According to one report, out of 114
hydrants, 86 are illegal. On top of the public health risk involved, the economy
is also suffering at the hands of the tanker mafia. Haji Yaqub Karim, runs a
large factory in the city, he told IRIN that industrial units are forced to buy
from water tankers permanently to meet their requirement. He pays around
US $200 a day to keep his factory supplied with water. KWSB told IRIN it
was trying to solve the water supply problem by building new infrastructure.
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The project would supply only another 100 MGPD to Karachi once
completed, well below current requirements. But shrinking capacity of
Pakistan's main reservoirs in the north of the country and unabated
population growth will put even more pressure on Karachi's water supply.
The UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
has already sounded a note of warning - it says shortage of water is likely to
emerge as one of the most pressing problem in Pakistan in coming years.

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Peshawar:
Until a few months ago, residents of Chairman colony and many other urban
areas in Peshawar received water only for a limited time during the day and it
was not safe for drinking. Depleting ground water resources, old
infrastructure and sewage occasionally seeping into the main water supply
lines impeded access to safe drinking water across the city. It was
compounded by a growing population and an increase in the number of
refugee families. Installing new ground water pumps and regulating the
cleaning of sewerage drains in the city had become critical. In 2021, with
funds from the Government and people of Japan, UNICEF launched a project
to improve families’ access to WASH services, with a focus on Afghan refugee
communities and Pakistani host communities living in two provinces --
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. UNICEF’s work was closely
coordinated with provincial and local authorities. In Peshawar, the project
was led by the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP). It aimed to
ensure a sufficient supply of improved quality water, to clean drains, to
improve solid waste management and to ensure that roads and streets were

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regularly swept to prevent garbage from blocking the drainage system. “An
ever-increasing population has stretched the capacities of the water supply
system in Peshawar,” says Obaidullah, WSSP Project Coordinator. “With
Japanese funds and UNICEF’s technical assistance, we have replaced the
hardware component and services, increased our human resources and led
behavioral change communication campaigns,” he explains. Under the
project, new ground water extraction pumps have been installed, equipment
for regular removal of solid waste and cleaning of drainage lines has been
procured, fresh water supply pipelines have been laid and the sewerage
system is now regularly cleaned to prevent water contamination. Using the
latest technologies, the project has helped made the water supply and delivery
system more efficient while monitoring water quality in real time, to the
benefit of the most vulnerable families. Under the project, UNICEF and
WSSP are also working to strengthen the Community Liaison Cell (CLC) to
improve communities’ knowledge and practice of good hygiene and safe water
handling. It has helped create public demand for services and generate
revenue for them. The WSSP project has not only resolved the water supply
and quality issues which we faced, but it has made our streets cleaner,”
Anam’s father Yousaf Iqbal tells. “People used to throw garbage outside their
houses, which clogged the open drainage and stunk. It also caused our
children, who usually play on the street, to fall sick quite often. Now the
WSSP cleaning staff ensures that the drains are never blocked. We have
sufficient water supply, and the quality has improved. Last but not least, all
the residents have become aware of the need to keep their surroundings
clean.” In Peshawar, around 160,000 people are now benefitting from
improved WASH services which also cover 13 educational institutions and
four health facilities. Overall, the Japan
funded, UNICEF-supported project is
benefitting nearly 375,000 people in KP
and Balochistan realize their right to safe
drinking water and adequate sanitation.

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Quetta:
Each day Quetta city requires 50 million gallons of potable water but Water
and Sanitation Authority (WASA) is able to provide just 25 million gallons,
leaving a huge gap in the demand and supply. The scarcity of potable water in
Quetta district has given birth to a powerful and thriving tanker mafia and
the city has been left entirely on its mercy due to the government in action.
Talking to The Express Tribune an official of Irrigation Department Barkath
Khan Kakar said that due to 25 million gallons’ shortage, every household has
to order water tankers to meet its requirements. In Quetta, like much of the
province, the underground water level has gone down to 800 feet and sinking
a private tube well cost at least Rs1 million but there is no guarantee that this
tube well will work permanently so the solution is going even deeper which
could push the cost of a tube well, sufficient enough to supply a single
household, to Rs5 million. This is the amount of money not every household
can afford. As per the 2017 census Quetta has a population of 2.3 million but
independent sources put it at three million. Each passing year, the water level
is going down, further complicating an already complicated picture. The
WASA is responsible for water supply in the city but it can’t cope with the
increasing demand. Water tankers are there to bridge this gap. “I pay Rs2,000
for a tanker of water which is sufficient enough for five days,” a resident of
Quetta’s Airport Road Ghulam Dastagir said. Nobody knows if this water is
clean or not, he noted. WASA claims to have 428 operational tube wells in the
city. However independent sources dispute this claim. “Out of 428 only 12
tube wells are non-functional, the Managing Director WASA Hamid Latif
Rana said when contacted. He said the authority was making all out efforts to
provide clean drinking water to the masses. He said that consumers were
reluctant to pay their bills, which is a big problem for his department. Local
residents have their own complaints about WASA. Another resident of
Quetta, Abdul Sattar Mandokhial said that tanker mafia is minting money
right under the nose of WASA. He added that most of the public tube wells
are out of order thus leaving people at the mercy of tanker mafia. WASA has
around 2,000 employees which is an entire army in its own right. Chief
Minister Mir Qadoos Bizenjo has declared provision of clean potable water as
top priority of his government. The provincial government has also started
work on Mangi Dam in Harnai district. Barkath Khan Kakar said that with
the completion of Mangi Dam, the issue of water scarcity would be addressed
to a large degree. He observed that there were widespread reports of

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contaminated water being supplied to the households by water tankers. The
water quality should be checked regularly, Kakar said. In Balochistan the
issue of water scarcity is getting serious each passing day and water-borne
diseases are widespread. The outbreak of cholera claimed precious human
lives in Dera Bugti because the residents of Pir Koh were provided
contaminated water. Water scarcity issues is also getting serious in Pishin,
Killa Abdullah, Kalath, Mastung, Noshki, Chaghi, and other districts of
Balochistan.

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Islamabad:
In Islamabad, the main source of water is, the reservoirs built at Simply and
Khanpur and few tube wells, as water aquifer in the capital territory is
shallow and scattered. A peak cumulative water production from these
sources is 84 million gallons per day (MGD), which drops down to 62 MGD.
What is the reason of shortage of water in Islamabad? ISLAMABAD - The
experts have said that water challenges in Islamabad have increased due to
wastage of rainwater and horizontal expansion of the capital city, over-
abstraction of groundwater resources, poor water supply, sanitation issues,
and unsustainable use as the International Water Management Institute
(IWMI). Scarcity of water especially the potable water has remained a major
predicament towards opening new sectors in Islamabad. Yet, undeterred by
the water shortage, the population of the city is growing at a rate of 5.7
percent per year aggravating the water shortage. A peak cumulative water
production from these sources is 84 million gallons per day (MGD), which
drops down to 62 MGD. The average demand is 176 MGD, while water
shortage of 106 MGD, confronts most of the time of the year. The position in
neighboring Rawalpindi city and cantonment is equally bad as it is solely
dependent on Rawal Lake and sharing with CDA supplies from Khanpur
Dam. Islamabad face major crunch during summer season and pre-monsoons,

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when water rationing is imposed; people throng the complaint centers, clamor
for water tankers, an arrangement which CDA cannot meet adequately. The
Federal Cabinet in 2004, while reviewing presentation on the CDA had
decided that the long-term solutions of water shortage needs to be highlighted
to help catalyze the development process in the city of Islamabad. This
required exploration of source for a sustainable supply of water. The
following sources had thus been focused upon. Indus River – Upstream of
Tarbela Dam, Jhelum River – Upstream of Mangla Dam.

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Gilgit:
A report on water quality in Pakistan’s northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan
shows high levels of pollutants in sources of drinking water, with serious
implications for the health and safety of residents. Gilgit-Baltistan occupies a
crucial position in the supply of water to the whole of Pakistan. The region
hosts around 7,000 glaciers, which provide a major source of meltwater into
the Indus basin, on which Pakistan is critically dependent. Yet most people
living in the lightly populated mountainous region rely on mostly unfiltered
water from snowmelt runoff, springs, groundwater and rivers for drinking,
leaving them at risk of disease. A report by the Pakistan Council of Research
in Water Resources (PCRWR) in collaboration with the Asia Foundation
confirmed just how polluted drinking water is in the region. Out of 94
samples, 10-15 from each of the six districts in Gilgit-Baltistan, PCRWR
found that only 22% fell within safe limits for human consumption in terms of
contamination. Most of the samples were collected from taps that drew water
from a range of water sources, including surface water channels (28 of the 94
samples), springs (56), groundwater (seven), and rivers or lakes (three). 22%
Samples of drinking water tested that fell within safe limits for human
consumption. One hundred per cent of samples tested from rivers were found
to be contaminated. This figure was 82% for snowfall runoff in surface water
channels and 80% for fresh spring water. Only 29% of groundwater samples
were contaminated. But given the plentiful streams and rivers, and the cost
and difficulty of accessing groundwater, this is used far less as a source of
water by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, the report states. Residents of Gilgit-
Baltistan bear a heavy cost from water pollution. Muhammad Nasir, a retired
soldier living in Ghakuch city, Gilgit-Baltistan, recently sent his 11-year-old
daughter Naveeda to the Aga Khan hospital in Karachi for medical treatment,
about 2,000 kilometres away. The young girl had developed a liver infection at
the age of seven due to contaminated drinking water in Ghakuch. Waterborne
diseases among children in the city are common, Nasir told The Third Pole.

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Gawadar: By and large, Gwadar faces water shortage. In recent years, the
main Gwadar town itself has faced acute scarcity of drinking water. Locals
have often taken to roads to press the authorities to ensure water supply that
has remained a rare commodity in Gwadar.02-Feb-2022 Water management
in Gwadar, a port city on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan has
turned into a severe challenge for local and national authorities. Citizens have
taken to the streets to protest both against the water crisis and the authorities
that have failed to pay the tanker companies which have been providing water
to the city for the past months. Indeed, the city has struggled with a seemingly
unending water crisis since May 2017. This crisis is bound to get worse as
Gwadar’s annual population growth rate of nearly 3 percent is expected to
balloon once port companies start hiring. Meanwhile, the government has not
yet not found a sustainable solution to the water issue, rather it has been
paying tanker companies to truck in water from Meerani Dam in the
neighboring district of Kech around 150 kilometers away from Gwadar city,
at the cost of Rs. 17,000 (about $254.74) for each tanker. Although there is
enough water in Meerani Dam to supply Gwadar for a few more months, the
current profit-driven model is not only draining the provincial budget on a
daily basis but it is also inefficient compared to other systems such as
government-run aqueducts and pipes. But the government appears unready
to offer a better solution and the city has to continue to rely on trucking in
water by private contractors. This tanker-mafia — as most citizens call it —
has benefited enormously from the water shortage. The contractors have
repeatedly stopped supplying water over payment disputes holding the
citizens of Gwadar de-facto hostage. This time, it has been more than a week
since they stopped trucking water into the city forcing the citizens to take to
the streets. Struggles and protests over water are not new in Balochistan, but
the repeated standoffs in Gwadar have become a major flashpoint amid rising
tensions accentuated by ineffective governance, as well as growing poverty
and inequality. Last November, protesters from Gwadar traveled all the way

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to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, where they protested in front of the
Karachi Press Club. Recent heavy rains wreaked havoc on residents of
Gwadar and other parts of Makran division, rendering hundreds of them
homeless. While the Makran division is dependent on rainwater to fulfil water
need of its residents, which is a blessing, turns into a scourge for locals due to
poor planning or lack of basic infrastructure. This is why rain washes away
the limited resources people have in their hands.

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