Urban flooding could be blessing in disguise

The consultation process for addressing the problem of urban flooding, due to rains in Karachi, has been initiated. In this regard a meeting of stakeholders was held on Monday to find a permanent solution to the problem.

The meeting, jointly organised by the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project (SFERP), the Planning and Development (P&D) Department, and the World Bank discussed the use of flood water for non-potable purposes such as gardening and firefighting by constructing underground water storage tanks which will also help preventing urban flooding in Karachi.

The meeting was co-chaired by Chief Economist P&D Aslam Soomro, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank Ahsen Tehsin and Aslam Leghari of SFERP.

The rainwater causes urban flooding and creates issues of drainage and loss to the properties besides creating traffic issues in the city during the rains.

The participants noted and deliberated upon the use of stormwater for recharging the groundwater or water table.

It was also highlighted by the participants that groundwater depletion has become a major issue and some areas of Karachi do not have sweet water due to groundwater depletion.

Read: Rawalpindi tackles flooding risks

The meeting was told that the project implementation unit SFERP intended to hire a consultancy firm to conduct a feasibility study for the underground stormwater storage facilities aimed at flood prevention within the Karachi division.

The firm so engaged will be tasked to identify locations where inundation events have occurred in the recent past and propose the construction of underground stormwater storage tanks.

The former commissioner Karachi Shoaib Siddiqui speaking on the occasion stressed the need to ensure appropriate inter-organisational coordination for this purpose.

Consultant World Bank Shahid Sohail, stressed the need of coordination among on-site relevant departments while a KMC representative informed that 514 branch drains need to be cleaned to ensure the smooth flow of sewage water.

The Chief Economist P&D Aslam Soomro, outlined the need to select the sites which get inundated frequently along with the kind of structures to be built for storage and its effects as it should not cause seepage and affect the existing infrastructures.

He also offered to form a working group in P&D to ensure coordination among all stakeholders.

Additional Secretary P&D Zubair Channa pointed out that nullahs have been blocked due to encroachments.

He said these channels need to be widened and encroachment removed. He was of the view that the option of recharge tanks can also be considered for storage of flood water.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2024.