Punjab plans mandatory recharge wells for new homes

Rs205b water, sewerage projects advance across 15 cities

FAISALABAD:

The Punjab Water and Sanitation Authority (PWASA) is set to introduce rules making recharge wells mandatory for every new household in an effort to replenish declining groundwater reserves and curb increasing water contamination.

Director General PWASA Tayyab Fareed said the proposed regulations would be placed for formal approval at the authority's upcoming meeting.

Speaking to reporters, he said the newly established PWASA network, comprising 41 Water and Sanitation Agencies across Punjab, is working to improve access to safe drinking water and modern sanitation services throughout the province.

He said the procurement of 272 modern vehicles had been completed, while the acquisition of 969 additional machines and equipment was under way to strengthen operational capacity.

The DG said development projects worth Rs205 billion were in progress in 15 major cities, including Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Gujrat, Jhelum, Jhang, Hafizabad, Okara, Nankana Sahib, Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan, to improve sewerage systems, prevent urban flooding and modernise water supply infrastructure.

Under the first phase of the Punjab Development Programme, he said, authorities plan to lay 2,265 kilometres of sewerage lines, construct 89 disposal stations, install nine underground water storage tanks, build 189 kilometres of storm-water drains, pave more than 30 million square feet with tuff tiles and restore 752 kilometres of roads during the next fiscal year.

Responding to a question about the proposed Eastern Wastewater Treatment Plant in Faisalabad, Tayyab Fareed said discussions had been held with representatives of a Danish donor agency regarding investment opportunities in Pakistan's water and sanitation sector.

He said the Environment Protection Department had issued the required no-objection certificate (NOC), a Project Management Unit (PMU) had been established and 90 acres of state land had been transferred to the Housing Department for the project.

On monsoon preparedness, the DG said PWASA had established around 15 monsoon camps in Faisalabad and addressed all identified flooding hotspots through engineering interventions.