Water issues in Pakistan

Content analysis of the water issues

1) Introduction
Lord Mountbatten after realizing the dire need of a separate homeland for Muslims and Hindus
declared that power would be transferred from the British to the Indians by June 1947. The
escalating tensions post partition did not end just there. Neither have they ended after the three
wars, the neighboring nations have fought within a time frame of 30 years after partition.
At the time of partition, the distribution of assets was not done evenly and history stands witness to
that so no point in negating the facts. What was not realized at that time was that India had full control
over that one resource without which human life would cease to exist- water.
Water that reaches the two nations comes from the Himalayan glaciers which passes through Indian
controlled Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan’s government had grave concerns over this matter to which
the Inter- Dominion Accord of 1948 catered to. According to this accord, India would release water into
Pakistan for which it would receive regular payments.
The Pakistani citizenry was extremely uptight about this and its concerns proved valid when in 1948
Pakistan’s water supplies were cut off by an Indian administrator. This led the leaders of the nation to
take this matter to the International Court of Justice but India was always hesitant to follow suit. It was
on September 19, 1960 that a deal was brokered between the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru and Ayub Khan, the President of Pakistan. It was termed as the Indus Waters Treaty according to
which, control of water from the western rivers of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab was handed over to
Pakistan and India would have complete access to the waters from Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, the eastern
waterways. The point of conflict that the two neighbors’ now face is again majorly concerned with the
water supply. India has proposed construction of four dams on River Chenab to which the Pakistani side
has a clash of interest and that is legitimate. As per the treaty, both the country’s if were to build dams,
a prerequisite was to inform the counterpart before proceeding with the plan. The plan would only
materialize on the total consensus of both the nations. India repeatedly has gone off the track and
without providing prior notice to Pakistan has been head on with its strategy of building dams on the
rivers which are to provide water to Pakistan
Pakistan has been blessed by nature with enough surface and groundwater resources. Industrialization,
urbanization, and rapid population growth have placed huge stress on water resources. Water has a
vital role in our life processes including growth and development. It plays significant role in our every
field of life. But Pakistan could "run dry" by 2025 as its water shortage is reaching an alarming level. The
authorities remain negligent about the crisis that's posing a serious threat to the country's stability, DW
reports
According to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan ranks third in the world
among countries facing acute water shortage. Reports by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) also warn the authorities
that the South Asian country will reach absolute water scarcity by 2025.

 Major causes of water crisis

 Water politics
 Climate change
 Wastage of water
 Lack of dams

2) Literature Review
I am going to have a review of some issues that I have mentioned before which is secondary sample.

Although large scale water resources development has been taking place in the world, but until vast
majority of people shall do not have enough potable water for drinking and canal water for irrigation.
The distribution of water supply for drinking purpose is quite appalling in modern times, Mean
time the downstream people are not suitably protected against flood or disaster hits due to the
improper management. Irrigation is the main stay of Pakistan’s economy, around 90% of total
agriculture output of the country is totally dependent on irrigation. It is clear that water resources have
played very important role in the development of land and water storage system. More than half of
world’s population lives in developing countries and the poorest of these communities depend heavily
on exploitation of local water resources for their livelihood.

The situation is further expected to worsen by 2040 when Pakistan

might become the most water-stressed country in the region.
Water politics and Indus water treaty: First of all at the time of partition, the distribution
of assets was not done evenly and history stands witness to that so no point in negating the facts. What
was not realized at that time was that India had full control over that one resource without which
human life would cease to exist- water.
Water that reaches the two nations comes from the Himalayan glaciers which passes through Indian
controlled Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan’s government had grave concerns over this matter to which
the Inter- Dominion Accord of 1948 catered to. According to this accord, India would release water into
Pakistan for which it would receive regular payments.
Indus Waters Treaty, treaty, signed on September 19, 1960, between India and Pakistan and brokered
by the World Bank. The treaty fixed and delimited the rights and obligations of both countries
concerning the use of the waters of the Indus River system.
The Indus River rises in the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region of China and flows through the
disputed Kashmir region and then into Pakistan to drain into the Arabian Sea. It is joined by numerous
tributaries, notably those of the eastern Punjab Plain—the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers.
The Indus River system has been used for irrigation since time immemorial. Modern irrigation
engineering work began about 1850. During the period of British rule in India, large canal systems were
constructed, and old canal systems and inundation channels were revived and modernized. However, in
1947 British India was partitioned, resulting in the creation of an independent India and West Pakistan
(later called Pakistan). The water system was thus bifurcated, with the headworks in India and the
canals running through Pakistan. After the expiration of the short-term Standstill Agreement of 1947, on
April 1, 1948, India began withholding water from canals that flowed into Pakistan. The Inter-Dominion
Accord of May 4, 1948, required India to provide water to the Pakistani parts of the basin in return for
annual payments. This too was intended as a stopgap measure, with further talks to take place in hopes
of reaching a permanent solution. Numerous disputes were peacefully settled over the years through
the Permanent Indus Commission. In a significant challenge to the treaty, in 2017 India completed the
building of the Kishanganga dam in Kashmir and continued work on the Ratle hydroelectric
power station on the Chenab River despite Pakistan’s objections and amid ongoing negotiations with
the World Bank over whether the designs of those projects violated the terms of the treaty.
Climate change: Very less downpour, The Hydrological cycle determines the set of processes that
maintains the flow of water through the system. The hydrological cycle depend upon evaporation, due
to high contamination of wet lands, oceans, rivers the process is affected badly. Cutting of large areas of
jungle according to UN report in Pakistan from 7000 to 9000 hectares jungle is removed yearly and now
it is only 5% instead of 25 % of Total land. Also the hydrological circle determines the set of processes
that maintain the flow of the water through system. The hydrological circle depends upon the
evaporation, due to the high contamination of wet lands, oceans, river the process is affected badly. The
contribution of rainfall to crops is 5% to 10%.

Cutting of large area of jungle according to UN report in Pakistan from 7000

to 9000 hectares jungle is removed yearly and now it is only 5% instead of
25% of the total land.
Wastage of water: Apart from the water storage issue, experts say that water wastage is also a
big issue in the country. Abid Suleri, executive director of the Islamabad-based Sustainable
Development Policy Institute, says the mismanagement takes place at many levels. As the water crisis
worsens in Pakistan, foreign diplomats and activists have taken to social media, urging people to save
water. "Using a bucket to save water while washing my car! #Pakistan ranks third amongst countries
facing water shortage. One major reason is excessive use. 100 liters wasted washing a car with running
tap water. Many ways to #SaveWater in our daily life! #SaveWaterforPak," Martin Kobler, German
ambassador to Pakistan, wrote on Twitter.

In April, former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced Pakistan's first National Water Policy, promising
consolidated efforts to tackle the water crisis. But experts are skeptical about the authorities will to deal
with the issue. The country will hold general elections on July 25 and there is an interim government
currently in place. Water crisis is a priority neither for the caretaker government nor for the political
parties contesting the polls.

Lack of dams:
Water and energy crises-hit Pakistan has only 18 dams to store water, which is insufficient to deal with
the growing needs of citizens. A total of one million small and big dams exist in the world which can
store 83,000 cubic kilometer of water. Out of the one million dams, about 59.7 percent are situated in
Asia, 21.1 percent in North America, 12.6 percent in Europe, 3.3 percent in Africa, two percent in South
Africa and 1.3 percent are found in Australia.

According to data available, around 50,000 dams have over 200 feet height. China has more big dams
than any other country in the world with a total of 19,000 water reservoirs, the US stands at second
while neighbouring India is at third with 4,000 dams. Pakistan has only 18 water reservoirs and seven
barrages to cater for the agricultural and hydel power needs of the country. According to reports, today
Pakistan has only the one-fifth of the water that was available in 1947, converting two million acres of
agricultural land into barren. Pakistan built its first dam on River Kabul namely Warsak, and later Mangla
and Tarbella were constructed following water dispute with India. Pakistan has 13 power stations which
have a capacity to generate 6,444 megawatts. Today India, which had 300 dams in 1947, has 4000 dams
to produce 37,367 MW and irrigate over two million square kilometers of land. That shows India is
moving forward and Pakistan is going backward.
3) Statistics
Now we are going to discuss some main figures and statistics regarding these all root cause problems.
And these all statistic are taken by the experts.

If we talking about water storage here is some statistics about water storage of some countries.

a. Canada ________ 694 MAF

b. U.S.A. ________ 1420 MAF
c. China ________ 2280 MAF
d. India ________ 245 MAF
e. Pakistan ________ 13.20 MAF (due to silting up of
reservoirs)

S.NO Reservoir Location/near city Total storage

1 Tarbela Abotabad 10.2
2 Mangla Mirpur 5.6
3 Hub Malir 0.0924
4 Tanda Kohat 0.0788
5 Khanpur Khanpur 0.059
6 Warsak Peshawar 0.0475

7 Rawal Islamabad 0.0475

In 2006 – 6.7 billions, increasing at a rate of 78 million/ year has reached now 7.13 billion Predictions –
10.9 billions up to 2050.90% growth rate occurs in developing countries; already such countries are
facing many problems of food, fiber, health and education. Pakistan is sixth most populous nation in the
world with 19.3 million populations growing at a rate of 1.52% year.
 Water wastage chart:

Total available surface water and losses

142 MAF from all surface sources

50 MAF loses river and

sea
92 MAF

29 MAF loses from canals

63 MAF

30 MAF Addition from tube

wells
93 MAF

37 MAF loses from water

courses
56 MAF

14 MAF loses from

lands
42 MAF NET USES
4) Discussion \ ARRGUMENTS
with
No kind of irrigation engineering work can be under taken without ample knowledge of the water
availability. A correct estimate of available water for irrigation is a pre-condition of success. In addition
quality and quantity of water has to be assessed before its utility. The water supply available for
agriculture is derived from freezed ice, surface stor-ages and ground entrapment. But the actual and
only recharging source is the rainfall. Rainfall is normally inadequate to sustain more than a very low
level of agricultural production, particularly in semi-arid regions. This requires the effective watershed
management for harvesting the surface and sub-surface runoff and preparation of water budget
from all sources. The irrigation water is be-coming a diminishing source in Pakistan and the whole world.
It is clear from the global facts that for sustainable and further development of the agriculture sector,
storages are must at proper places with proper planning and management.

PREVENT \ SOLUTION
 Educate to change consumption and lifestyles
 Invent new water conservation technologies
 Improve irrigation and agricultural practices
 Recycle wastewater
 Improve irrigation and agricultural practices
 Appropriately price water
 Develop energy efficient desalination plants
 Look to community-based governance and partnerships Develop and enact better policies and
regulations
 Improve distribution infrastructure
 Shrink corporate water footprints
 Build international frameworks and institutional cooperation
 Public common resources / equitable access
 Water projects in developing countries / transfer of technology
 Address pollution
 Climate change mitigation
 Population growth control
IMPACT OF WATER SHORTAGE
The main points are:-
a. Shortage in cropped lands (Out of 80 Mha, 29 Mha land is cultivable but only 17 Mha is hardly
canal irrigated yet), therefore import of food grains put additional stress on economy.
b. Hydro Power. Pakistan has an estimated potential of 40,000 MW of hydropower in the upper
Indus region; we have tapped only 13%. At present Pakistan has a power generation capacity of
19246 MW, out of which only 30% is from hydel and nuclear where as 70% is from thermal.
WAPDA has projected a power requirement of 75149 MW by year 2025, which can only be
achieved by constructing additional storage dams.
c. Effects of Urbanization / Industries. Water shortage in turn is also affecting:-
(1) Availability of water for urban use.
(2) Industrial use
(3) Flow downstream Kotri.
d. Ground Water. Shortage of surface water has put tremendous pressure on ground water.
Over drawing of ground water by users to compensate the shortage. In turn reduced recharging
owing to less percolation. This has resulted rising of saline water lens nearer to the ground
surface.
e. Effect on National Harmony. The worst impact of water shortage is that, it is creating
bitter controversy between provinces, which is affecting national integration and creating
disharmony between

Effective management
The water resources development is embedded in the socio-economic environment. The
effective development
Depends upon:
• Development policies be prepared by the state
• Population growth
• Economic frame work, considering the agriculture as Industry
• Availability water resources and effective harvesting methods of runoff
• Water wastage through entire system, percolation, evaporation and methods of irrigation.
• Crop patronage, seasons, duration and effective rainfall
• Food and fibre demand and future requirement, considering the growth rate of population.
More specific identification of issues will help in preparing various models for quality & quantity
studies
 5) Conclusion

More than 70% of the population lives in rural areas and the poorest of these communities depend
heavily on exploitation of local natural resources for their livelihoods. Management becomes important
when the productive resource is water and depleting day by day. Awareness through all possible means
about the environment calls for reduced abstraction and higher quality return flows. A national policy is
necessary to achieve sustainable agriculture growth. The problem of water shortage is investigated up
to its grassroots, then on the basis of that an effective solution be produced and implemented. Growing
urban concentration and industrialization along the rivers on one side led to the significant abstraction
of fresh water and on other side put negative impacts on water quality. Therefore water balance, water
quality and water accounting is must for sustainable water supply for all possible uses.
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