Water quota unable to meet

Water quota unable to meet

While the population of the city is swelling at an estimated rate of 10 per cent per annum, the current quota of 650 million gallon per day (MGD) water has already been utilised, and the city faces the possibility of a drastic shortage of potable water, The News has learnt.The available 1,200 cusec water had been fully utilised till 2007, but ever since, not a single drop of water has been added to the allocated quota. Sources said that requests for an additional 1,200 cusec of water for Karachi have fallen on deaf ears in both the Sindh and the Federal government.Sources told The News that Karachi Nazim Mustafa Kamal wrote a letter to the Sindh additional chief Secretary on June 27, 2009, requesting that an additional 1,200 cusecs of water be made available for the city. However, no decision has been reached at in this context till now, sources maintained. It is pertinent to mention that Karachi currently receives 550 million gallon per day (MGD) from the River Indus and 100 MGD from Hub Dam; the total supply of fresh water thus amounts to 650 MGD, which is equivalent to 1,200 cusecs.Following the Karachi Nazim’s letter, a summary was moved by the Sindh planning and development (P&D) department to the provincial chief minister, who in turn, scheduled a meeting on this matter. However, sources added, this meeting could not be held till now. Sources said that Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had carried out the Master Plan study on water supply and sewerage system, and in its final report submitted to the Sindh government in 2008 had recommended an additional allocation of 1200 cusec water quota.JICA, in its study, had also discussed the extraordinary growing rate of the population of the city, which currently stands at around 18 million. This population is swelling at a rate of 10 to 12 per cent per annum, with several factors, including that of large-scale internal displacement contributing to this increase.Sources said that the case was also referred to the federal government, who in its reply, had advised the Sindh government to arrange 1,200 cusecs of water for Karachi from within its own allocation of water. However, the matter could not be resolved as yet, sources said, adding that without the allocation of the additional quota, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) is unable to proceed further on the K-4 Project.The paucity of fresh water in the city can be gauged through the fact that contrary to the standard practice of water supply throughout the day, each day of the week, water is only supplied for four to six hours in some areas of the city, and that too, on an irregular basis. Given the prevailing circumstance and available resources, the standard practice cannot be maintained in Karachi.Sources said that according to the K-4 project feasibility report, the plan entails completing the project in five phases; each phase would enable the supply of 130 MGD water. As per the study, the first phase of the K-4 project was to begin in 2009, and it was supposed to be completed in 2012. Similarly, according to the feasibility of the project, the fifth and the final phase of K-4 was supposed to be completed till 2025, and it would cater to a total supply of 650 MGD of water. It is pertinent to mention here that geographic information system (GIS) would be used for materializing K-4 Project to cater to future requirements of fresh water in the city.