Changing weather patterns have affected the monsoon, causing flash flooding and cloud burst scenarios, especially in Faisalabad where 120mm of rains were recorded last year.
Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Amir Aziz said while speaking to the media that issues related to drinking and sewerage water had also been discussed during the recent COP28 global climate change conference in Dubai.
He said WASA had increased the sewerage service coverage since 1978 from 50 to 72 per cent of the city. He said the Danish government had approved funding for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant to cover the entire flows from the eastern zone of Faisalabad.
The treated effluent from the plant will be discharged into the Gugera irrigation canal flowing 7.5km away.
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Aziz said the treated effluent would meet the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standards for reuse in agriculture.
While preparing a master plan, a survey of Satiana drain and the Ravi had been conducted and construction of the plant downstream the nullah recommended to treat remaining sewage without affecting the residents downstream the river, he added.
Work on a project of rainwater harvesting to recharge groundwater reservoirs is also under way and the Punjab government has approved funding of Rs250 million to build in the peripheral areas.
The Asian Development Bank has consented to invest $170 million for construction of the treatment plant under the design, build and operate mode. Approval of the proposal by the Central Development Working Party is awaited.
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The MD expressed concern over depletion of the water table and said roadside drains had not been connected to the main sewerage lines, causing overflowing and damaging the drainage system.
Recharging wells will be constructed along the Rakh branch canal because the surface water has become contaminated and natural seepage had declined.
He said the WASA administration was cognisant of the damage caused by contamination from untreated wastewater from factories of the irrigation channels.
The agency is working with the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the French government to extend the water supply system to unserved locations, including housing colonies, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2023.
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