Pakistan has about 1.2 million tube wells extracting 50 million acre feet of water every year for farm irrigation. NASA satellite maps show that Pakistan is among the places worst affected by rapid depletion of groundwater.
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| Water Stress Satellite Map Source: NASA |
A recent World Bank report titled "Groundwater in Pakistan’s Indus Basin : Present and Future Prospects" lays out the need for better groundwater management in Pakistan. Here are three key highlights of this reports:
1. Improved groundwater management is crucial for a healthy, wealthy, and green Pakistan. Pakistan’s Indus Basin Irrigation System is the largest artificial groundwater recharge system in the world, but the current water management paradigm doesn’t reflect it.
2. Over-abstraction, waterlogging and contamination threaten the crucial role of groundwater as a life-sustaining resource, which has cascading impacts on drought resilience, public health, and environmental sustainability.
3. For groundwater to remain a safe and reliable source of drinking water and a lifeline for tail-end farmers, a balance must be achieved between efficiency of the surface water system and sustainability of groundwater resources.
The World Bank report points to the need for better management of groundwater resources. One of the keys to groundwater management is to have an elaborate network of small dams and water reservoirs in strategic locations to recharge underground aquifers.
In recent years, Pakistan has begun to address its groundwater challenges, starting with the National Water Policy 2018 which identified priorities for groundwater management.The NWP supports significant increases in the public sector investment for the water sector by the Federal Government from 3.7% of the development budget in 2017-18 to at least 10% in 2018-19 and 20% by 2030; the establishment of an apex body to approve legislation, policies and strategies for water resource development and management, supported by a multi- sectoral Steering Committee of officials at the working level; and the creation of a Groundwater Authority in Islamabad and provincial water authorities in each of the provinces.
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14 comments:
Riaz Sahib
It is a huge problem. With Pakistan being a water scarce and water stresses country, ground acquirer is being fast depleted. I am afraid some day brackish and sweet water may just mingle ruining the entire acquirer.
Another equally major problem, besides the quantity, is the water quality. It has become so deteriorated that water in the canals is a source of disease. All untreated waste is discharged into rivers which smell foul and are fast becoming open sewers.
I can go on!
Rashid: "Another equally major problem, besides the quantity, is the water quality. It has become so deteriorated that water in the canals is a source of disease. All untreated waste is discharged into rivers which smell foul and are fast becoming open sewers"
Groundwater contamination is a particularly serious issue in coastal communities in Sindh where the seawater is intruding deeper into land.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319341934_Seawater_Intrusion_Land_Degradation_and_Food_Insecurity_Among_Coastal_Communities_of_Sindh_Pakistan
re: One of the keys to groundwater management is to have an elaborate network of small dams and water reservoirs in strategic locations to recharge underground aquifers.
the best way to recharge underground aquifers is to allow broad expanses of land to flood during the rainy season and thus have water infiltrate to the aquifer over the whole area, just the way it always had historically...but as rivers are channeled to prevent flooding, the areas where infiltration occurring are reduced, leading to aquifer depletion as water is withdrawn for agriculture, which is what is happening with the Ogallala aquifer in the US today...one hopes the Pakistanis do not repeat our mistakes...
The water pumped out,with the NPK and the Sun,and the Fissioning of Photosynthesis,converts into carbon - which is the agri plant - which is then burnt as agri waste,and the crop removed.In the burning process,the moisture in the plant is destroyed,and the dirt and smoke and carbon is released back into the atmos.
Rains will come and go,and no dam strategy will work,due to global warming and the experience of the Hindoos,in Maharashtra - where 10 Billion USD of Dams,have no water.
Lowering prices of cash crops and finding ingenious ways to reject the purchases or making the farming of that crop unviable - will CAUSE revolution and SPIKES IN PRICES (like in Sugar - for Cane)
So there is a Economic,Social,Security and Political Benefit,in the lowering Acquifiers.
ONLY SOLUTION,is Controlling the water from Kashmir and Kabul Basin,and THEN making LARGE DAMS and IRRIGATION CANALS,and raising the POWER TARRIFFS,FOR WATER PUMPS,IN SELECT AREAS.
For that,Pakistan and the PLA,have to take over Kashmir.
All else is a waste of time and money.For farmers,water if Oxygen.They 1st pump water,and then breathe.dindooohindoo
The main issue is "Over-population". Pakistan like India is having more people than it can handle. Until there is a balance of population (in fact, it must reduce), both countries will be in serious trouble. At least, in India the population growth has reduced greatly, unlike Pakistan.
The real problem is not recycling water and not using drip irrigation systems.
Storing floodwater to ensure availability for whole year
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/855127-storing-floodwater-to-ensure-availability-for-whole-year
Islamabad : The government is likely to approve an ambitious plan to store floodwater in existing fifteen natural lakes linked with wetlands that would be a nature-based solution of its own kind in the country.
A high official of the climate change ministry told this correspondent that an international organization has recently submitted a report that stated that Pakistan stored only 9 percent of floodwater and the remaining amount went down to the Arabian Sea.
He said “The report pointed out that the melting of glaciers starts in the northern region and monsoon arrives from the southern region. All this happens within 100 days so the flow of water can be turned towards the natural lakes that are part of the wetland sites.”
The official said the natural lakes linked with wetlands can provide enough storage capacity and considerably ensure availability of water throughout the year.
He said there are one million tubewells in Pakistan due to which the level of underground water has reduced in last few decades, adding “The plan will also help recharge aquifer and raise the level of underground water. The whole country will benefit from this plan that is likely to be approved soon by the federal cabinet.”
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam has said the government is finding out nature-based solutions to the issue of water storage in the country. He said: “We have received a report from an international organization and it has shown us a path to store floodwater in existing natural lakes.”
These natural lakes are currently losing their water level so the plan would not only restore them to their original status but also help raise the level of groundwater in Pakistan, he said.
#California Has Some of #America’s Richest Farmland. But What Is It Without #Water? California farmers are selling their water for profits instead of growing crops amid severe #drought. #ClimateCrisis #Drought2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/climate/california-drought-farming.html?smid=tw-share
n America’s fruit and nut basket, water is now the most precious crop of all.
It explains why, amid a historic drought parching much of the American West, a grower of premium sushi rice has concluded that it makes better business sense to sell the water he would have used to grow rice than to actually grow rice. Or why a melon farmer has left a third of his fields fallow. Or why a large landholder farther south is thinking of planting a solar array on his fields rather than the thirsty almonds that delivered steady profit for years.
“You want to sit there and say, ‘We want to monetize the water?’ No, we don’t,” said Seth Fiack, a rice grower here in Ordbend, on the banks of the Sacramento River, who this year sowed virtually no rice and instead sold his unused water for desperate farmers farther south. “It’s not what we prefer to do, but it’s what we kind of need to, have to.”
These are among the signs of a huge transformation up and down California’s Central Valley, the country’s most lucrative agricultural belt, as it confronts both an exceptional drought and the consequences of years of pumping far too much water out of its aquifers. Across the state, reservoir levels are dropping and electric grids are at risk if hydroelectric dams don’t get enough water to produce power.
Climate change is supercharging the scarcity. Rising temperatures dry out the soil, which in turn can worsen heat waves. This week, temperatures in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest have been shattering records.
By 2040, the San Joaquin Valley is projected to lose at least 535,000 acres of agricultural production. That’s more than a tenth of the area farmed.
And if the drought perseveres and no new water can be found, nearly double that amount of land is projected to go idle, with potentially dire consequences for the nation’s food supply. California’s $50 billion agricultural sector supplies two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts and more than a third of America’s vegetables — the tomatoes, pistachios, grapes and strawberries that line grocery store shelves from coast to coast.
Glimpses of that future are evident now. Vast stretches of land are fallow because there’s no water. New calculations are being made about what crops to grow, how much, where. Millions of dollars are being spent on replenishing the aquifer that has been depleted for so long.
A century of groundwater accumulation in Pakistan and northwest India
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-00926-1
The groundwater systems of northwest India and central Pakistan are among the most heavily exploited in the world. However, recent, and well-documented, groundwater depletion has not been historically contextualized. Here, using a long-term observation-well dataset, we present a regional analysis of post-monsoon groundwater levels from 1900 to 2010. We show that human activity in the early twentieth century increased groundwater availability before large-scale exploitation began in the late twentieth century. Net groundwater accumulation in the twentieth century, calculated in areas with sufficient data, was at least 420 km3 at ~3.6 cm yr–1. The development of the region’s vast irrigation canal network, which increased groundwater recharge, played a defining role in twentieth-century groundwater accumulation. Between 1970 and 2000, groundwater levels stabilized because of the contrasting effects of above-average rainfall and the onset of tubewell development for irrigation. Due to a combination of low rainfall and increased tubewell development, approximately 70 km3 of groundwater was lost at ~2.8 cm yr–1 in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Our results demonstrate how human and climatic drivers have combined to drive historical groundwater trends.
recent related article:
Pakistan among top 10 countries facing severe water crisis -
Pakistan is estimated to be in the top 10 list of the world’s countries facing water scarcity, said Munir Akram, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) while emphasising the water issues that plague the country. He made these comments while speaking about the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6, which deals with the issue of clean water. Highlighting the water issues, he said that Pakistan is on the top when it comes to water scarcity, reported ARY News. Stressing on the cause of water issues, the UN representative cited climate change, floods and drought as the reason....
“With most of the world’s water resources being shared between two or more countries, the need for transboundary cooperation assumes even greater urgency with rising water scarcity.”
This comes at a time when Pakistan’s national water supplies have dipped substantially low and are facing severe strain as despite an early onset of summer in mid-March and April getting hotter than usual. It is because the snow melting process in mountainous and hilly areas has not picked up the pace. Pakistan’s water supply level is much below last year’s levels. It is also below average supplies of the last five or 10 years. On Saturday, the country received 90,000 cusecs in all its rivers against the last 10-year average of 1,37,700 cusecs, a drop of 27.73 per cent.
Alishba Farrukh ⚯͛
@bubblesays
Pakistan has the world's fourth-highest rate of water use. Its water intensity rate — the amount of water, in cubic meters, used per unit of GDP — is the world's highest. This suggests that no country's economy is more water-intensive than Pakistan's. 1/n
https://twitter.com/bubblesays/status/1522195266933305345?s=20&t=YJvQFn8WZuSTKbNkcPfGcA
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Alishba Farrukh ⚯͛
@bubblesays
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6h
Replying to
@bubblesays
According to the IMF, Pakistan's per capita annual water availability is 1,017 cubic meters — perilously close to the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic meters. Back in 2009, Pakistan's water availability was about 1,500 cubic meters.2/n
https://twitter.com/bubblesays/status/1522195653241319425?s=20&t=YJvQFn8WZuSTKbNkcPfGcA
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Alishba Farrukh ⚯͛
@bubblesays
Pakistan is approaching the scarcity threshold for water. What is even more disturbing is that groundwater supplies are being rapidly depleted. And worst of all is that the authorities have given no indication that they plan to do anything about any of this. 3/n
https://twitter.com/bubblesays/status/1522198066169798659?s=20&t=YJvQFn8WZuSTKbNkcPfGcA
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Alishba Farrukh ⚯͛
@bubblesays
Pakistan may face a water shortage of 22-30% for six months starting from April 1 to September 30 during the Kharif season 2022.
https://twitter.com/bubblesays/status/1522198262043877378?s=20&t=YJvQFn8WZuSTKbNkcPfGcA
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Alishba Farrukh ⚯͛
@bubblesays
In 2025 Pakistan may face an acute water crisis. To avoid this outcome Islamabad must work dedicatedly on National Water Security, and plantation dives to protect and conserve natural climate. The problem is not due to water availability but the mismanagement of water
SenatorSherryRehman
@sherryrehman
Good news for Pakistan! Our Recharge Pakistan project, which will be implemented over the next 7 years, has been approved today for funding of 77.8 M USD. These include GCF resources of 66 M USD and co-financing of around USD 11.8 M. This adaptation project aims to initiate ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) interventions that will store flood water in wetlands, floodplains and depressions (green infrastructure) at several priority sites, build community resilience at these sites, and enable the Government of Pakistan, including all lead provinces and stakeholders to implement & replicate such nature-based solutions for climate resilience.
https://twitter.com/sherryrehman/status/1678625444176822275?s=20
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Funding of $77.8 million has been approved for Recharge Pakistan, a project that aims to build the country’s climate resilience and water security, Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman announced on Tuesday.
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40252003/778mn-funding-secured-for-recharge-pakistan-project-sherry-rehman
“Good news for Pakistan! Our Recharge Pakistan project, which will be implemented over the next seven years, has been approved today for funding of $77.8mn,” said Rehman in a post on Twitter.
The minister highlighted that the funding includes $66 million from Green Climate Fund (GCF) resources and co-financing of around $11.8 million.
GCF was established in 2010 by 194 countries party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is designed as an operating entity of the Convention’s financial mechanism and is headquartered in South Korea.
“This adaptation project aims to initiate ecosystem-based adaptation interventions that will store flood water in wetlands, floodplains and depressions (green infrastructure) at several priority sites,” said Rehman.
Recharge Pakistan is a joint collaboration by GCF, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Government of Pakistan. As per information available on the WWF website, the project aims to build Pakistan’s climate resilience and water security through cost-effective ecosystem-based adaptation.
“The project will increase water storage and recharge through wetlands, floodplains, and hill-torrents management; promote climate-adapted community-based natural resource management and livelihoods; and forge a paradigm shift to scale up this approach,” read the website.
Last week, Rehman during a high-level meeting with a delegation led by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President-designate of COP28 and UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said a “critical gap” in resources for adaptation and mitigation has been identified by multilateral agencies -amounting to $348 billion or 10.7% of cumulative GDP by 2030.
Despite this, Pakistan is committed to a green energy transition, whereby it will transfer 60% of its energy needs to renewables by 2030 and reduce its projected emissions by 50% until 2030, Rehman said.
Pakistan is actively involved in transitioning the country towards the renewable energy sector and is seeking partnerships in the alternative and renewable energy sector, the minister added.
Recharge Pakistan Project receives $77.8 million funding boost from the Green Climate Fund, United States Agency for International Development, The Coca-Cola Foundation and World Wildlife Fund | Press Releases | WWF
https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/recharge-pakistan-project-receives-77-8-million-funding-boost-from-the-green-climate-fund-united-states-agency-for-international-development-the-coca-cola-foundation-and-world-wildlife-fund
The new 7-year project brings together a broad set of funders to help reduce the vulnerability of people and ecosystems in Pakistan to the impacts of climate change following the devastating floods of the past year—which submerged one-third of the country and displaced millions. In addition to the GCF funding, the project is supported through a further $12 million investment and technical support from, collectively, The Coca-Cola Foundation, The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and WWF-Pakistan.
The project represents a deep commitment to addressing climate impacts in vulnerable communities and will transform the country’s approach to flood and water resource management in local watershed sites in the Indus Basin river system. Further, by taking a nature-based approach to the problem, it will create benefits to communities beyond climate resilience.
“Recent years have brought an unprecedented series of climate disasters that touched every corner of the globe. The 2022 floods in Pakistan were among the most searing and severe. Our hearts go out to all who lost friends and loved ones,” said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US. “The funding announced by the GCF alongside the commitments from The Coca-Cola Foundation and USAID marks a decisive step towards addressing the challenges faced by communities experiencing climate impacts first and worst. And while no intervention can fully protect against future climate disasters, the nature-based solutions funded through this investment will help local communities in Pakistan restore what was lost and build resilience to help withstand our shared climate future. WWF thanks the Government of Pakistan and looks forward to working with them and partners to implement this important initiative.”
Recharge Pakistan is a collaboration among: Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC); the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) under the Ministry of Water Resources; local communities in DI Khan, the Ramak Watershed, and Manchar Lake; GCF; USAID; The Coca-Cola Foundation; and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The program encompasses three vital components: demonstrating the effectiveness of ecosystem-based adaptation and green infrastructure, promoting its adoption via an improved enabling environment, and enhancing community resilience in Pakistan's Indus Basin. This will be achieved through:
Restoration and reforestation of 14,215 hectares of forests and wetlands
Rehabilitation 34 km of water flow paths and channels
Development of 127 recharge basins and retention areas
Strengthening the climate resilience of 7 local businesses in the agriculture and forests sectors
Together, project interventions will directly benefit more than 680,000 people and indirectly benefit more than 7 million people.
Rivers in Pakistan aren't drying yet. Here's why
Official data and satellite imagery processed by India Today's Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team suggest rivers allocated to Pakistan under the IWT – the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum (collectively called Western rivers) – continued to flow their normal course and speed as of April 30.
Subham Tiwari
New Delhi,UPDATED: May 1, 2025 22:37 IST
Posted By: Vivek Kumar
In Short
Rivers Indus, Chenab, Jhelum flow normally despite Treaty suspension
Hydrological data-sharing suspension affects Pakistan's irrigation
No significant change in river flow at Indian and Pakistani dams
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/rivers-in-pakistan-arent-drying-yet-here-is-why-2718197-2025-05-01
Geoanalytical expert Raj Bhagat puts the situation more succinctly: “At present, it’s impossible to stop waters of the Western rivers.” It will be difficult for us to do so even in the future, he tells India Today.
He says India practically has no instrument to control the flow of the Indus river at the moment. India has only a small dam on the river – that too hundreds of kilometers upstream at Nimoo Bazgo in Ladakh.
To regular waters of these rivers, the only feasible approach is to build big dams and canals to divert water to other areas within Indian territory for irrigation. As earlier analysis by India Today shows we need to build at least 22 dams equivalent to Bhakra Nangal to store the amount of water that flows in the three Western rivers in a year.
India didn’t have any “storage” dams that could store waters for longer periods because the IWT didn’t allow it to be built on the Western rivers – the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum. Under-construction Pakal Dul is the sole hydropower project that is envisaged as a “storage” facility.
However, Bhagat says, “The topography of the region doesn’t allow big dams to be built The only river whose water can be diverted to an extent is Chenab that would need massive investments.”
Environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar says the risks of building dams on Chenab river are too high. “We already have the largest number of existing, under construction and planned projects in this very fragile, disaster-prone area. This is also a location where experts have warned about the major risks of landslides, floods, seismic activity and glacial lake outburst floods,” says Thakkar, the coordinator of non-profit South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People (SANDRP).
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