KARACHI: The Water Commission in its submission before the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the water supply for Karachi prayed the court consider its recommendations for further direction to the concerned authorities for proper implementation.
Currently, Karachi has been receiving 650 million gallons of water per day (MGD) for drinking purposes against the demand of 11 MGD.
Not a gallon of water has been added in past ten years in the system to overcome the shortage, therefore new sources of water supply (like K-IV 260MGD) must be acquired immediately for Karachi. It is necessary to stop unchecked urbanization in major cities to keep the water requirement under control.
For providing water to houses on tail and to the areas where water supply system is still not available, new distribution lines of water supply must be laid before the start of K-IV (260MGD) etc. A system of water-meters for bulk purchasers must be introduced immediately while domestic users should be brought into the aforementioned net gradually.
The heads of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and concerned sub divisional officer (police) of the area can be made responsible for eradicating the menace of illegal water hydrants and, in case of discovery of the illegal water hydrant, cases may be registered against them.
A modern system based on computer technology with command and control room to monitor water supply and water theft should immediately be put in place.
Official water hydrants to meet emergencies can be installed in each location within a radius of 3 kilometers to save transport expenses and the erosion of roads caused due to water spillover from tankers.
All the filter plants must immediately be rehabilitated fully and put to work, so that the process of purification of water can commence. The existing filter plants’ capacity is short of actual requirements; new filter plants should be built to meet current and future requirements.
The dosing of chlorination of water to kill bacteria at filter plants and water supply schemes has to be declared mandatory.
Immediate action must be taken and punishment given to those KWSB officials who fail to chlorinate water. The functionality of labs at each filter plant may be ensured to maintain water quality as per World Health Organization standards.
There should also be a complete ban on the construction of multistoried and high rise buildings until the water shortage is overcome and new resources of drinking water are put in place.
The Sindh Building Control Authority betterment charges on approving building plans can be ordered to be transferred to KWSB.
In KWSB, a single-window system should be introduced for the sanction of water connection and other water-related issues to discourage corruption and corrupt practices.
Water meters should be installed in government departments, institutions, agencies, offices, hospitals, and judicial complexes, etc.
Private enterprises like shopping malls, private hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and industries should also be subject to a water-metering system immediately.
Orders must be passed to remove encroachments from all Effluent Treatment Plants including TP-II Mehmoodabad Karachi, so that they may start treating outgoing toxic waste of industries going into the sea. More treatment plants are required as the capacity of current effluent plants is maximally 150 MGD to cope with an inflow of 500 MGD of sewage.
The installation of a Pre-Treatment Plant within the factory to treat toxic waste inside the units must be declared mandatory and violation thereof must be made a cognizable offence. In this regard, the responsibility shall be fixed on industries, the commerce department, and the management the factories themselves.
Directions may be issued to District Management Malir, Irrigation Department, KWSB and others concerned to immediately take appropriate measures to stop sand-lifting from the Malir River bed as this illegal activity has exposed the water conduits (GK-I, K-II and K-III) supplying water to the entire city to damage, and if this practice is allowed to continue, it can lead to the dislocation and blast of said water conduits at any time which would stop the supply of drinking water to the entire city.
Instead of entrusting water related issues to several civic agencies, a single civic agency should be constituted, or an institution like the Water Regulatory Authority should have representatives in each district from civil society etc. to attend to all water supply and sanitation related issues.
The Public Health and Engineering Department on completing water-related schemes should be made responsible for the operation and maintenance thereof, instead of any other department or council.
In its concluding note, the Water Commission stated that the Indus River, its tributaries and channels, which are a source of potable water, have become polluted due to the constant inflow of untreated municipal and industrial waste from Guddu Barrage to Kotri Barrage.
The Sindh government is not taking any substantial steps to stop water pollution by either treating the waste through Treatment Plants etc before discharging it in bodies of water, or by diverting the inflow of waste to SCRAP drains etc.
The water for Karachi is transmitted first to Keenjhar Lake from the Indus River through KB Feeder and from Keenjhar Lake to Dhabeji Pumping Station and Gharo Pumping Station.
A total of 582 MGD water from Keenjhar Lake is being channeled for the consumption of Karachiites.
From the Hub Dam, 100 MGD water is being channeled through the Hub Canal to Manghopir Filter Plant and supplied, but the availability of water in the Hub Dam is entirely dependent on runoff water, which could be reduced to zero in drought conditions.