JUSTIFICATION OF THE OBJECTIVES

There are very limited water supply facilities available in Rural Areas of Punjab as
detailed below:

In Pakistan, 95% of the population has access to improved drinking water sources. The
category “improved drinking water sources” includes sources that, by nature of their
construction or through active intervention, are protected from outside contamination,
particularly faecal matter. The improved water sourcesinclude Tap water, hand Pump,
Motor Pump, Bottled water, Tanker, filtration plants, open wells and surface water. The
Pakistan Living Standards Measurement Survey (PLSM) 2018-19 depicts that:

• Overall 18% of households use tap water as main drinking water source.
• In urban areas, 31% use tap water as main source, whereas in rural areas, it is
11%. In Punjab only 12 % of the households use tap water as main drinking
water source, which is the lowest among all provinces. After tap water and
motorized water, hand pumps are the third largest source of drinking water.

In Punjab 69.62 million population lives in rural areas out of which only 14.98 million is
served with clean drinking water. Rest 54.64 million is un-served population. So only
21.51% populations living in rural areas have access to safe drinking water.

Water sources in Punjab are given as below:

• Use of improved and unimproved sources of Drinking Water in Punjab is (99%)

• Tap water= 12%
• Motorized Pump= 44%
• Hand Pump= 23%
• Bottled water= 1%
• Tanker/Truck=4%
• Filtration plants=15%
As mentioned above in Punjab there is high dependence on ground water, whereas
indicators show improvement in accessibility to water, the quality of water still remains
problematic. Widespread use of handpump and pit latrines is responsible for fecal
contamination of the drinking water. This contaminated water is being used for drinking
purposes and cooking mostly without any treatment, resulting in water borne diseases.

Moreover, According to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6.1,
the target is “By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking-
water for all”. Moreover, under the SDGs 6.1, the highest drinking water target of “Safely
Managed” category is defined as “Drinking water from improved water sources located on
premises, water is accessible on premises, water is available when needed, and water supplied
is free from contamination”. The second category “Basic+” is defined as “Drinking water from
improved water source, provided water collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round
trip, including queuing, water is available when needed, and water supplied is free from
contamination” (GLASS, 2019).

As per WHO Guidelines for Drinking‐water Quality, fourth edition incorporating the first
addendum, the quantity of water collected and used by households has an important influence
on health. There is a basic human physiological requirement for water to maintain adequate
hydration and an additional requirement for food preparation. There is a further requirement for
water to support hygiene, which is necessary for health.

Estimates of the volume of water needed for health purposes vary widely. In deriving World
Health Organization (WHO) guideline values, it is assumed that the daily per capita
consumption of drinking water is approximately 2 liters for adults, although actual consumption
varies according to climate, activity level and diet.

The quantities of water collected and used by households are primarily a function of the
distance to the water supply or total collection time required. This broadly equates to the level of
service. Four levels of service can be defined, as shown in table below:
Service level and quantity of water collected

Likely volumes of Public health risk from

Service level Distance/time
water collected poor hygiene

Very high Hygiene

More than 1 km /
Very low: 5 liters per practice compromised
No access more than 30
capita per day Basic consumption may be
min round‐trip
compromised

Within 1 km / Approximately 20 High Hygiene may be

Basic access within 30 min liters per capita per compromised Laundry
round‐trip day on average may occur off‐plot

Water provided
Approximately 50 Low: Hygiene should not
Intermediate on‐plot through
liters per capita per be compromised Laundry
access at least one tap
day on average likely to occur on‐plot
(yard level)

Supply of water
100–200 liters per Very Low Hygiene should
Optimal through multiple
capita per day on not be compromised
access taps within the
average Laundry will occur on‐plot
house

Source – (WHO guidelines on drinking water quality, 2018)

Available evidence indicates that health gains accrue from improving service level in two key
stages: the delivery of water within 1 km or 30 minutes of total collection time; and when
supplied to a yard level of service.

Keeping in view the WHO guidelines, a minimum 5 liters per capita per day is recommended as
service delivery in the no access rural areas.

Recommended Solutions
Aab-e-Pak Authority has selected multiple treatment solutions as per local situation depending
upon the source and quality of water, area and urgency for providing potable water, difficulty
faced by the residents to fetch clean drinking water. Following multiple solutions are proposed:

i. Direct supply through pipelines or installation of taps for a community at sweet water
sources with no pollution
ii. RO plant as standalone solution or Surface water treatment plant with pipeline network
to Markaz-e-Aab if TDS in groundwater are more than 1000 mg/l
iii. Ultrafiltration plants if TDS in groundwater are less than 1000 mg/L and water
contaminated with microbes and other organics.
iv. RO plant with additional filter according to other contaminants or Surface water
treatment plant with pipeline network to Markaz-e-Aab or Shallow depth tube wells at
canals with conventional treatment and pipeline network to Markaz-e-Aab for high TDS
groundwater with other contaminants like, Arsenic, Iron, Fluoride or Nitrate
v. Hand operated UF plants recommended for small communities (population size ≤ 800)
vi. Completely prefabricated, site mounted, assembled and commissioned compact Rapid
Sand Filtration treatment plants. Such plants will be used for medium population range
(from 8000 to 50,000).
vii. Hand carry water bottles of 12/19 liters capacity will be provided to the consumers to
carry drinking water from plants to their houses.
viii. Water quality testing on regular basis will be arranged.
ix. Construction contracts will be made at Division/Zone level according to quantum of work.

Selection of the Plants

Water quality of ground water will be analyzed by taking ground water samples from each site.
TDS and other contaminants like Arsenic, Fluoride, Nitrates, etc. of each sample should be
checked and based on measured data along with the population; the plant should be selected
and installed.

Location and Size of Plants

The minimum and maximum size of plant will be designed to serve population from 800 to 8000
from a single plant.
Selection criteria of sites for RO and UF plants
Priorities have been given to brackish areas of Punjab. Reverse osmosis plants will be installed
in the villages having TDS in ground water more than 1000mg/l as per WHO guidelines/Punjab
Environmental quality standards for drinking water and population more than 2000 in 2020
(Projected population). UF will be installed if TDS less than 1000 and some other contaminants.
UF with additional filter for Arsenic, Fluoride or Nitrates will be installed in case of any access
value from WHO guidelines. UF Hand pump will be installed for population of 500 and source
water (stream, pond).

Selection criteria of sites for RO and UF plants in Tribal Areas

Reverse osmosis plants will be installed in the villages having TDS in ground water more than
1000mg/l as per WHO guidelines/Punjab Environmental quality standards for drinking water and
population more than 500 in 2020 (Projected population). UF will be installed if TDS less than
1000 and some other contaminants. UF with additional filter for Arsenic, Fluoride or Nitrates will
be installed in case of any access value from WHO guidelines.

UF Hand pump will be installed for population of 500 and source water (stream, pond, hill
torrent).

Selection criteria of sites for direct supply for villages

Direct water supply will be installed only in sweet water areas of Punjab. Water supply lines
from water source to the village will be laid and disinfected water will be provided through Aab-
e-Pak markaz having prefabricated room with storage tank and water taps.

Installation of a surface water treatment plant

A surface water treatment plant is proposed at Bari Doab Canal, District Okara. The area is
proposed keeping in view the high TDS and other contaminants like Arsenic in ground water
and location near a canal.

The Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority intends to develop safe drinking water supply schemes
to the under-served areas, using localized and customized solutions, including water
supply sources, treatment options and sustainable O&M models. The PC 1 is framed
based upon the recommendations of the Feasibility Study approved by the 7th meeting
of the Governing body of the Punjab Aab e Pak Authority held on 11-02-2020 in
Governor’s House, Lahore (Minutes of Meeting enclosed at Appendix)