The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has conceded that Pakistan is becoming a water-stressed country as the availability of per capita water has declined. Irsa told Senate the other day, “It is true that Pakistan is becoming a water-stressed country as the per capita water availability has went down to below 1,000 cubic meters.” The Authority however said that Indus Basin System still had the capacity of providing additional 22.4 maf water for storage. In reply to a question, raised by PML-N Senator Nuzhat Saddiq, Irsa partially accepted the claim made by IMF that Pakistan was among the 36 water-stressed countries, an official source told The Nation yesterday. PML-N Senator Nuzhat Saddiq had inquired from IRSA about the veracity of the IMF claims that Pakistan was becoming a water-stressed country and Indus Basin had already touched its limit and there was no space for further distribution of Basin water among the provinces. Irsa claims that the Indus Basin could still provide ample opportunity of water storage and its distribution among the provinces. Annually 30 maf water flows downstream to Kotri and the environmentalists’ survey had recommended that 8.6 maf flow of water to Kotri was essential to protect flora and fauna in that region. This means that the Indus Basin still had additional 22.4 maf water to be stored.
Having said that, how will the government ensure reliable and effective water storage in the Indus Basin to address the looming scarcity? Currently the dams in Pakistan have a holding capacity of 30 days as compared to 220 days in India and 1,000 days in Egypt. Will we ever get past the disputes that surround the Kalabagh dam, to tackle the storage problem head on? Though the importance of dams cannot be stressed enough, natural ways of watershed management can prove very successful in storing water provided by the monsoon rains. To understand watershed management and empower the farmers to save water for their land and their communities is key.
Pakistan depends on a single source, the Indus system and its tributaries, for most of its water supply needs; 95% of surface water goes to agriculture alone. If water is being consumed so heavily for agriculture and livestock activities why does farming go largely untaxed? It is time that water is taxed in an appropriate way that the rich landowners use it with the efficacy that it deserves. Water is a valuable resource that is depleting fast. The government should invest in creating awareness for the importance of sustainable usage not just to the farmers and industries but also individual households.
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