Daily Times

KARACHI: A project to add 65 million gallons per day (MGD) of water from Halleji Lake via Pipri to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board’s (KWSB) main pipeline supplying the megacity has been kicked off without any provision for a filtration plant, Daily Times has learnt.

The last time city’s water supply was enhanced was in 2005. About 100 MGD of water was added to the main pipeline under the Greater Karachi Water Supply project (K-III), but without any provision for filtering the water for impurities before adding it to the main pipeline.

With completion of the 65 MGD project, the city will receive 725 MGD water, of which 295 will be pumped into the main pipeline without filtration at the source.

In the 1980s, Karachi was allocated a quota of 1,200 cusec of water from the country’s river system. Of this, only 100 cusecs remained unused until the project to add 65 MGD (from this remaining quota) form Halleji lake, some 70kilometre from Karachi, kicked off.

The KWSB has given the contract for construction of the 21-kilometre long waterway, of which 16 km will be open canal and five km a conduit system, connecting Halleji lake to its infrastructure to the military-owned National Logistics Cell’s (NLC) construction section. A gateway will also be built near Halleji Lake to link the waterway to the canal. The civil works component of the project will costs Rs 2billion, and will be completed by June 2019, KWSB officials have informed Daily Times. They said the NLC has already started work on the project.

Meanwhile, tenders have been issued to draw attention of bidders for construction of five pumping stations – 16.5 MGD each at different places.

The officials explain that the third component of the project comprises infrastructure needed to connect the bulk supply line to the line carrying 65 MGD water from Halleji Lake at Malir, Saudabad, Landhi, Korangi and adjoining industrial areas. Tenders for construction of this infrastructure have also yet to be issued.

Talking to Daily Times, project director Zafer Palijo said that there was no provision for a filtration plant in the documents. However, he said the matter would be raised with officials concerned.

Commenting on the issue, former KWSB managing director Ghulam Arif said provision of a filtration plant in the newly planned water channel was the joint responsibility of the KWSB planning department and the consultants. He said it appeared that the vital aspect of the project had been ignored on purpose to escalate the cost of the project, which currently stood at Rs6 billion. He suggested that a PC-I should immediately be issued for the provision of a filtration plant to ensure clean drinking water to the residents.

The feasibility report for revival of the project was approved in October 2015. The provincial government intends to complete the project in the next 18 months.

Halleji Lake, an earth-filled artificial lake spread over six square-miles, was built in 1940 during World War II.

Published in Daily Times, April 2^nd 2018.