Half of Karachi households have no access to piped water: study
Experts warn water deprivation can get worse if immediate steps not taken
PHOTO: EXPRESS/RASHID AJMERI
KARACHI:
Khan’s family moved to Karachi for a better life in 2009. He settled down in Yousuf Goth. “Everything is available here but [potable] water,” he laughed. “We never thought before moving to the city that water would be a challenge for us,” he added.
Khan said one of the prime responsibility assigned by his parents was to arrange water if the supply in the taps was suspended for one reason or another. “Everyone in Karachi has the same issue - even the rich have to arrange [purchase] it,” he said.
Across the city, residents echoed the same concern. “It’s not a new issue for me. I have been carrying water cans on my head since childhood,” said Amina Bibi, a resident of Atma Ram Preetamdas Road, Lyari. “I have compromised on quality but I need it daily.”
Karachi water crisis to worsen over coming days
A recent study, conducted by the World Resources Institute (WRI), based on data collected from 15 cities in the global South, including Karachi, found that on average, almost half of all households lacked access to piped water. The water crisis currently affects more than 50 million people.
“In Karachi, the average availability of piped water supply is three days a week for less than three hours,” the study finds. It further states that the urban water crisis is grossly underestimated and that even more urbanites will suffer water deprivation if no action is taken immediately.
Alarming findings
The report, titled ‘Unaffordable and Undrinkable: Rethinking Urban Water Access in the Global South’ warns that by 2030, 45 cities with populations of over three million could experience high water stress. It adds that even in some places where the water stress is low, the water does not reach many residents.
“Karachi is expanding rapidly but it lacks a proper water supply management,” said Water Aid’s Manager for Policy and Advocacy, Nadeem Ahmed. “The water issue in Karachi is more complicated than other cities of the country,” he added.
“Institutional fragmentation is another major issue that complicates the water supply to common people,” explained Ahmed, adding that climate change was yet another factor that had disrupted the availability of water for the people of Pakistan, especially Karachi.
Experts’ analysis
“Karachi is over-populated,” commented Rahima Panhwar, the regional coordinator of Strengthening Participatory Organisation. “The oldest areas like downtown and Lyari get less water because their share of water is being provided to new settlements,” she added.
Panhar, who works in Malir and its adjacent areas, said that the institutional capacity was creating hurdles for general population. “We need to ensure legal connections to all settlements,” she urged, adding that the quality of drinking water must also be ensured.
The total water requirement for Karachi is around 1,100 MGD but it receives less than 50 per cent of the demand. There are two water sources that supply water directly to Karachi - the Keenjhar Lake and Hub Dam.
The water capacity from Keenjhar is 550 MGD but it provides 450 MGD while the Hub Dam is supposed to provide 100 MGD to some areas of Karachi.
“We get less than the due share of water for Karachi,” said the Sindh government’s spokesman and Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh on Law, Environment and Costal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab. “The request to the federal government has been pending for the last three years,” he added, complaining that the federal government did not own Karachi.
Wahab said that the water crisis in Karachi was a serious issue. “Water is our survival. It’s not for politics.” He said that all the political parties - Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami and other stakeholders of the city have to work for it.
“Water is a commodity,” he explained. “The people of Karachi have to understand its worth. We need to raise awareness amongst the masses not to waste it,” he urged.
To address the issue, Wahab said that the requirement of water will also be reduced once the people of Karachi start paying its bill. “We’re working on it,” he revealed.
Advice to governments
WRI’s analysis shows that alternatives to piped water, such as buying from private providers that transport water in from elsewhere, can cost up to 25 per cent of the monthly household income, which is five to eight times the World Health Organisation’s recommended expenditure level.
Can commission save city from running dry?
“Decades of increasing the private sector’s role in water provision has not adequately improved access, especially for the urban under-served,” said Diana Mitlin, lead author of the report and principal researcher for human settlements at the International Institute for Environment and Development. “Water is a human right and a social good, and cities need to prioritise it as such.”
The students suggests four specific actions that governments can take to improve access for the urban under-served. These include extending the municipal piped water system to all households, addressing intermittent water service to reduce contamination, implementing diverse strategies to make water more affordable and supporting city-wide, participatory, in situ upgrading of informal settlements.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2019.
Khan’s family moved to Karachi for a better life in 2009. He settled down in Yousuf Goth. “Everything is available here but [potable] water,” he laughed. “We never thought before moving to the city that water would be a challenge for us,” he added.
Khan said one of the prime responsibility assigned by his parents was to arrange water if the supply in the taps was suspended for one reason or another. “Everyone in Karachi has the same issue - even the rich have to arrange [purchase] it,” he said.
Across the city, residents echoed the same concern. “It’s not a new issue for me. I have been carrying water cans on my head since childhood,” said Amina Bibi, a resident of Atma Ram Preetamdas Road, Lyari. “I have compromised on quality but I need it daily.”
Karachi water crisis to worsen over coming days
A recent study, conducted by the World Resources Institute (WRI), based on data collected from 15 cities in the global South, including Karachi, found that on average, almost half of all households lacked access to piped water. The water crisis currently affects more than 50 million people.
“In Karachi, the average availability of piped water supply is three days a week for less than three hours,” the study finds. It further states that the urban water crisis is grossly underestimated and that even more urbanites will suffer water deprivation if no action is taken immediately.
Alarming findings
The report, titled ‘Unaffordable and Undrinkable: Rethinking Urban Water Access in the Global South’ warns that by 2030, 45 cities with populations of over three million could experience high water stress. It adds that even in some places where the water stress is low, the water does not reach many residents.
“Karachi is expanding rapidly but it lacks a proper water supply management,” said Water Aid’s Manager for Policy and Advocacy, Nadeem Ahmed. “The water issue in Karachi is more complicated than other cities of the country,” he added.
“Institutional fragmentation is another major issue that complicates the water supply to common people,” explained Ahmed, adding that climate change was yet another factor that had disrupted the availability of water for the people of Pakistan, especially Karachi.
Experts’ analysis
“Karachi is over-populated,” commented Rahima Panhwar, the regional coordinator of Strengthening Participatory Organisation. “The oldest areas like downtown and Lyari get less water because their share of water is being provided to new settlements,” she added.
Panhar, who works in Malir and its adjacent areas, said that the institutional capacity was creating hurdles for general population. “We need to ensure legal connections to all settlements,” she urged, adding that the quality of drinking water must also be ensured.
The total water requirement for Karachi is around 1,100 MGD but it receives less than 50 per cent of the demand. There are two water sources that supply water directly to Karachi - the Keenjhar Lake and Hub Dam.
The water capacity from Keenjhar is 550 MGD but it provides 450 MGD while the Hub Dam is supposed to provide 100 MGD to some areas of Karachi.
“We get less than the due share of water for Karachi,” said the Sindh government’s spokesman and Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh on Law, Environment and Costal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab. “The request to the federal government has been pending for the last three years,” he added, complaining that the federal government did not own Karachi.
Wahab said that the water crisis in Karachi was a serious issue. “Water is our survival. It’s not for politics.” He said that all the political parties - Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami and other stakeholders of the city have to work for it.
“Water is a commodity,” he explained. “The people of Karachi have to understand its worth. We need to raise awareness amongst the masses not to waste it,” he urged.
To address the issue, Wahab said that the requirement of water will also be reduced once the people of Karachi start paying its bill. “We’re working on it,” he revealed.
Advice to governments
WRI’s analysis shows that alternatives to piped water, such as buying from private providers that transport water in from elsewhere, can cost up to 25 per cent of the monthly household income, which is five to eight times the World Health Organisation’s recommended expenditure level.
Can commission save city from running dry?
“Decades of increasing the private sector’s role in water provision has not adequately improved access, especially for the urban under-served,” said Diana Mitlin, lead author of the report and principal researcher for human settlements at the International Institute for Environment and Development. “Water is a human right and a social good, and cities need to prioritise it as such.”
The students suggests four specific actions that governments can take to improve access for the urban under-served. These include extending the municipal piped water system to all households, addressing intermittent water service to reduce contamination, implementing diverse strategies to make water more affordable and supporting city-wide, participatory, in situ upgrading of informal settlements.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2019.