The provision of safe drinking water to the masses has long been an important-and elusive- goal of successive Pakistani governments since independence. However, an alarming water quality report on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by the Pakistan Council of Research and Water Resources (PCWR) says that clean drinking water is increasingly becoming a scarce resource in the province. The report says that the problem is so serious that nearly half of KP’s Union Councils have no choice but to consume contaminated drinking water which causes diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery.
There is little doubt that the current situation is a result of poor planning. For starters, the country’s rapid population growth has caused its per capita annual water availability to drop from 5,260 cubic metres 70 years ago to just 935 cubic metres today. It is further projected to go down to 500 cubic metres by the year 2040. It is imperative, therefore, that the government immediately formulates a comprehensive strategy to control population growth.
In addition, it is essential that the KP water infrastructure be updated. Although 300 kilometres of the province’s worn-out, rusty water pipelines have been replaced, another 300 kilometres of decrepit pipelines- which pose severe health risks to the provincial population- have yet to be converted to internationally recognized, modern plastic ones.
Furthermore, besides considering established methods such as canals and filtration plants, KP must also look into the latest technology to augment its water resources. These modern methods, which are both economical and productive, include Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS), Rainwater Harvesting and Lifestraw.
In short, the time for KP to act is now. Any delay in considering the above-mentioned methods could considerably worsen the situation.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2019.
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