Water is one of the most crucial natural resources of the world and is vital for the continuity of all forms of life. It is one of the most cardinal factors in determining a country’s economic welfare and security. It is obvious that the consequences of any negligence towards this basic necessity of life would be catastrophic. However, despite the much-known need for water, very little heed is paid to the topic of water sustainability.
Pakistan’s water crisis stems from a diverse range of reasons –poor water management programs, execrable irrigation methods, decrepit canal network, the deteriorating condition of reservoirs and dams due to siltation, local wastage, and lack of awareness amongst individuals top the list of too many. While it is indispensable to a country's prosperity and well-being, as delinquency towards the importance of preserving this natural resource increases by political turmoil, the government, and locals, the impending water crisis in Pakistan seems inevitable.
Pakistan is referred to as a water deficit country. However, due to the aforementioned idiosyncrasies and repetitive patterns of inept handling of surface and underground water resources, it is not astounding that the Country is drying up at a perturbingly high rate –shifting rapidly from being classified as a water ‘stressed’ to water-scarce. It has been anticipated that within a short span of 5 years the per capita availability of water would fall to approximately 860 cubic meters. Recurrent patterns of uncurbed wastage and unconstrained pollution have led to rivers running dry and resources diminishing.
Climate change has put Pakistan’s future in a perilous state. Its radical influences are omnipresent and further mar the poor condition of water resources. The climate of Pakistan is characterized by hot summers and cold winters with minimal rainfall. Being an arid country means that the rainfall is scanty and comes in infrequent showers which, oftentimes, are unreliable. Most of the rainfall is provided by Monsoon and Western disturbances. The latter usually causes downpour in Northern areas. This insufficient rainfall barely meets the rising water demands as the country's population continues to increase at an expeditiously alarming rate. Global Warming and climate change have also affected the Monsoon season and annual rainfall. In the southern and western parts of Pakistan, hot and dry conditions prevail during summers. The annual rainfall in most of the areas is less than 250mm. Seasonally as well as annually, the variability of rainfall is considerable across the country and climate change has compounded this problem. The successive decrease in the yield of wheat in the past 2 years due to unfavorable rainfall is attributable to climate change. During the TIger Force Convention of 17th October, held in Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “Pakistan is one of the ten countries which are severely affected by climate change”. Even though Pakistan's contribution to Global Warming is far less than that of other countries, its impact nevertheless is calamitous, engendering prevalent dearth of food and water. Due to rising temperatures and the imbalance between evaporation and precipitation, the land is becoming alarmingly dehydrated. Melting Glaciers in The Himalayas, record-breaking heatwaves like that of April 2017, vulnerability to long and frequent drought spells and rapidly drying up rivers mean water crisis has become an unavoidable truth.
Pakistan’s agrarian economy depends on agriculture for its survival. Agriculture accounts for about 18.9% of the country's GDP and employs about 42.3% of the labor force. A sufficient quota of water is allocated to agricultural purposes as satisfactory yield requires timely and adequate water supply. Almost 64 % of the population of Pakistan resides in rural areas and earns its livelihood, directly or indirectly, from agricultural activities. The principal crops grown include wheat, sugarcane, cotton, and rice, which altogether account for more than 75% of the value of total crop output. These crops require an ample volume of water. Unlike other South-Asian countries, which grow it as a subsistence crop, Rice is a cash crop grown in Pakistan for sale and export. It makes 3rd major contribution to the GDP originating from the agricultural sector after wheat and cotton. Being a water-intensive crop, on average, 3000 liters of water are required for producing 1 kg of rice. Thus, scarcity of water poses a serious danger to Rice production.
The agriculture sector uses more than 90% of the surface and groundwater but its productivity per unit of water and per unit of land is very low. Many countries produce enormous amounts of the crop in areas smaller and water supply less than half of that used by Pakistan. An efficient irrigation system is a prerequisite for a good crop yield as rainfall is insufficient and unreliable. Despite having one of the most stupendous irrigation systems around the world, lack of infrastructure, rehabilitation and management mean that it has become obsolete. Between the canals and farms, about 60% of water is lost; largely because they are not lined. The seepage in the delivery system and siltation in reservoirs and dams obstruct water supply. The government's management of irrigation systems doesn't extend beyond the main distribution channels. Since canals work on rotations most farmers use the water whenever it is available even if it is detrimental to their crops aggravating the problem of water loss. Water for irrigation is supplied by the snow-fed mountains of the north but climate change and ferocious spells of heat mean these sources would soon run dry. An agriculture-based economy, like that of Pakistan, would suffer an incurable blow if the looming water crisis of the country is not addressed promptly.
Pakistan ranks 14th on the list of countries with an extremely high risk of water depletion.
Ever-increasing population, industrialization, severe and variable continental climate, and urbanization mean that regional disputes over supply and use of water are on the horizon. This coupled with the rising demands for food have put tremendous pressure on the already diminishing water supply. The signs of water scarcity are ubiquitous in the form of frequent unavailability of water, saline or contaminated water supply, continuously lowering the water table, and resource depletion. The impact of this is so tremendous that provinces and even regional people are fighting for resources. This hinders any program whose aim is to resolve the water crisis as the conflicts between the provinces over the supply of water exacerbate. The deep-seated mistrust between provincial governments is one of the reasons why the Kalabagh Dam Project hasn't been finalized. Out of all the provinces, only Punjab is in favor of building the dam as other provinces fear that the project would bring no substantial benefits and would bolster Punjab's control over smaller provinces. Lack of adjudication on these matters means that a huge quantity of water which, otherwise, could be used extensively for irrigation, supply in conditions of drought, for industrial processes, and for eradicating the energy crisis, is simply flowing into the Arabian sea. Had enough Dams been built, water, which is mindlessly being wasted could have been utilized for the alleviation of a plethora of problems that Pakistan's future is tangled in.
Among the top 10 countries with the lowest supply to clean water, Pakistan falls in the 9th position. About 21 million Pakistanis don't have access to clean water. The quality of groundwater, as well as surface water, is deteriorating drastically due to the inappropriate disposal of municipal waste and industrial effluents. The contamination of the single most humongous underground water resource, the Indus Basin aquifer, and the sequential decrease in water flow is appalling. Chemically and microbiologically this water is unsafe for human consumption. Saltwater intrusion and heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and nickel further degrade water quality. Moreover, unrestrained and excessive use of agrochemicals by farmers results in these chemicals either seeping through the soil into the groundwater or being washed off into the water bodies consequently causing irreversible damage which not only has deleterious effects on people but also on marine life. In Pakistan's premier industrial and financial center, Karachi, 30,000 people die annually due to unsafe water supply when about 10 trillion gallons of water are wasted every year. Diarrhea, a waterborne disease, is reported as the leading cause of death in infants. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report, 60% of infants die because of water-related diarrhea. The fact that people have to survive such deplorable conditions where water-borne diseases like cholera, diarrhea, and typhoid are nothing unusual is unpardonable. Due to a lack of sufficient water, people have to rely on water trucks to supply water for domestic purposes. A water tanker might come only a few times a month with only a small amount of water. This scarcity of water is exploited by local water mafias who siphon water from underground pipelines owned by the state. People are then charged an exorbitant price for this water. Within cities like Karachi, these water thieves continue robbing people of their money and basic rights despite multiple efforts of the government to try to stop them.
Due to uncontrolled sedimentation, the capacity of major dams continues to decline. This gives rise to problems such as the loss of water storage, especially for irrigation or domestic purposes, and damages the turbines of hydropower plants. Dams store water, prevent floods, regulate water supply to perennial and link canals, and aid in power generation. Thus, the Inadequacy of water not only disrupts farming but also has an adverse effect on electricity generation. In 1991, Hydroelectric power accounted for about 45% of Pakistan’s total electricity production. However, since then its contribution has declined to 29%. Being amidst a grave power deficit, over-reliance on imported fuel, and its already depleting fuel resources, means that within a few years fuels will become extortionate. The untapped hydroelectric potential of Pakistan, vastly due to the presence of the prodigious Indus Basin, could solve the energy crisis but imbecile wastage means that by the time authorities put their heads together and differences aside, it would have already been too late.
Water is one of the most fundamental necessities of everyday life. Because water sustainability is the key to GDP growth and alleviating poverty, it seems that the economic ladder that Pakistan's trying to climb has become precarious. Construction of new dams could compensate for the loss of storage in the major dams of Pakistan, facilitating water supply for irrigation and industrial uses when required. Improvement and management of water resources, capital investment in water infrastructure, and the use of less water-intensive techniques could also go a long way. Remodeling irrigation systems, where the loss of water is substantial, by the lining of canals, improved technologies like sprinkler and drip irrigation, and educating farmers about the pernicious effects of overwatering crops can aid in reducing water losses in the agriculture sector. Furthermore, a public information and education program could be launched to shed light on the disastrous effects of profligate water consumption. Innovative methods like rainwater harvesting, water recycling, and desalination of seawater are considered integral parts of sustainable water management in many parts of the world and could be employed in Pakistan as well to mitigate the water crisis. Instead of finding grandiose solutions that require tremendous sums of capital and more often or so fail due to improvident planning, authorities should take sequential and substantial measures to avert future tribulations. If quick and efficient measures are not taken to save water, the consequences will be infectious and catastrophic as water deficit can lash Pakistan's growth and economy which are already under hot waters.