The nation’s water supplies, however, are running out as time goes on. In the upcoming years, it is anticipated that there will be a severe water shortage on a global scale.
In order to protect its water resources and stop the depletion of underground water, Pakistan must develop a practical and effective plan.
Water is one of the fundamental necessities of life, and Pakistan is blessed with an abundance of water resources, claims an expert. The nation’s water supplies, however, are running out as time goes on. In the upcoming years, it is anticipated that there will be a severe water shortage on a global scale.
Saiqa Imran, the deputy director of the Pakistan Council of Research and Water Reservoirs (PCRWR), said that the country was feared to face an acute shortage of fresh water. She continued, “The country has quite a limited supply of fresh water.”
She claims that the main factor contributing to the depletion of water resources is climate change. Concerns about the future availability of water for the world’s rapidly expanding population were raised, according to her, as a result of the current water shortage. It is important for Pakistan to develop a plan to protect its water resources and address the depletion of underground water.
According to Saiqa Imran, the water table was typically steadily declining as a result of the frequent pumping of water out of the ground. “With a growing global population, the more groundwater we extract at a rapid rate, the more challenging it is to obtain the necessary amount because we extract groundwater faster than it can be replenished,” she continued.
She claimed that poor management and ineffective water distribution were the main contributors to the current water shortage. “Pakistan has one of the largest contiguous irrigation systems in the world, where more than 93% of the water is used by the agriculture sector, 5% by the domestic sector, and 2% by the industrial sector,” said the expert.
By 2025, domestic and industrial sectors will use 15% more water than they do now, according to her. Because modern irrigation techniques are not used in Pakistan, she claimed that the agricultural sector is the largest user of water, though its contribution to the national economy has been declining over time.
According to Saiqa Imran, the average storage capacity for the world is 40%, but due to a lack of space, Pakistan could only store up to 10% of its annual river water. “Due to a lack of the most essential resource, people have started using underground water.”
“Groundwater has been depleted as a result of indiscriminate overpumping in cities in the absence of regulatory bodies,” she continued. She asserts that developing an appropriate pricing system for water usage in any industry is urgently necessary. She stated that in addition to providing incentives, effective water use should be promoted.
According to the expert, the nation could implement a number of technical and managerial measures to conserve water at all levels, reduce irrigation losses, encourage farmers to adopt more effective irrigation techniques by developing a regulatory framework, start water licencing, and implement integrated water resource management.
“Policymakers should rethink water policy to encourage wastewater recycling under the tenets of private sector participation and optimal water pricing,” Saiqa Imran said.