Islamabad: Due to limited capacity for water storage, Pakistan has the capacity to store water for just 30 days, which is one of the lowest in the world as India has the capacity for 120 to 200 days, Egypt for 1,000 days, USA for 900 days and Australia for 600 days.
According to Planning and Development Division sources, per capita water availability at the time of creation of Pakistan was 5,600 cubic meters, but presently it stands at only 1,000 cubic meters and it will be further reduced in next couple of years, as Pakistan has failed to improve its water storage capacity in the country.
The per capita water availability will be further declined to 800 cubic meters in 2025 and to 575 cubic meters in 2050, revealed the data of the Planning Division. According to the data, in 2015 with population of 184 million, Pakistan’s water requirements were 168 million acres feet but there was shortage of 28 million acres feet. With the estimated population of over 220 million the water requirement will be over 175 million acres feet and the shortage will be over 40 million acres feet by 2020.
The Planning Division sources said Pakistan is one of those leading countries where water is excessively wasted at houses, offices, markets and factories and fresh and drinking water is used for washing, gardening and other non-drinkable purposes.
Due to increasing demand, Pakistan need to invest in huge amount and construction of large dams is need of the hour and large storage facilities are needed to match water demands, said the sources at Planning Division.
Despite claims by the government to construct storage for 5.218 million acre feet of water during 2013 to 2018, the government has been able to manage storage capacity for 3.54 million acre feet of water. The only project completed recently was Mangla Dam raising for additional storage of 2.90 MAF. The government has just resolved some of the technical issues of Gomal Zam dam, Nai Gaj, Mohmand Kurran Tangi dams but could not start the construction work.
During 2006-07, the then government allocated Rs. 41.422 billion in PSDP for water sector which was 18 percent of the total development allocations but the present government reduced it in its first year 2013-2014 when its allocation for water resources was just 10 percent of the total development allocations. During the year, 2015-16, this allocation was further reduced to just 4 percent of the total allocation for the development.
During the current budget for the year 2017-18, the allocation for the water sector has been further reduced to 3.7 percent of the total PSDP allocation, that indicate least priority of the government to this sector. The water is engine of growth, particularly in agro based economies and no other sector can provide jobs than water. The economic impact of water on food security is wide ranging and long lasting.
Pakistan is one of the most water stressed countries in the world and the situation is going to degrade into outright water scarcity which resulted in climate change and population growth will aggravate water shortage.
It has been planned by the Planning Commission that concrete measures would be taken to increase water storage capacity from the current 30 days to 45 days by 2018 and 90 days by 2025. National Water Commission is being set up to effectively manage all sources of water with their sectoral and regional allocations in a proper and effective manner.
Due to lack of water storages in Pakistan, there is no additional water to be injected into the system and there is no feasible intervention leading to make more water available for the consumers. Pakistan is one of those countries which possesses high risk water environment. The ground water is now being over exploited in many areas and its quality is deteriorating, contamination is a major cause of water borne diseases.
Due to lack of infrastructure to have proper storage, the flooding and drainage problems are going to be get worse especially in the lower Indus basin areas. The Indus basin is single, massive and highly complex interconnected eco-system. There is a need to give due attention on agriculture water management which is crucial as this sector consumes about 91 percent water. Due to shortage of water in Pakistan, the productivity per hectare is lowest in the country despite good soils and abundant sunshine.
Due to lack of proper facilities for consuming water, about two million acres of land has been lost to sea water intrusion in coastal areas of Sindh province, and the problem is getting even worse due to inadequate environmental flow and allied issues.
Edible oil is one of the major imports of Pakistan, and with fair and integrated management of water can cut this import bill largely and save billions of dollars being used for the import of the oil.
Due to present water price tariff, Pakistan’s most important crops like paddy and sugarcane have become unsustainable, causing losses to national economy. At present due to shortage of water, the country is even forced to import cotton and vegetables. Efficient and innovative utilization, conservation, storage and distribution of water can bring financial sustainability and help reduce imports with exports. There is also shortage of clean drinking water and about 80 percent of diseases in the country are water borne claiming 40 percent of death.