• The total dam storage capacity in Pakistan, as of now, is enough to meet only 30 days of average demand compared to 220 days in India and 1,000 days in Egypt.With per capita water availability expected to drop to just 855 cubic meters, Pakistan is heading for a water crisis in four-five years unless it puts its house in order
• The sense of exigency to come to grips with the impending water shortage crisis is absent on the part of Pakistan government, and this is perturbing, say both media and experts.

Pakistan is heading towards a water crisis. More than 35 percent of its population doesn’t have access to safe drinking water and this figure could double in the next decade. The per capita availability of water is expected to drop to just 855 cubic meters in another four-five years. Yet, there is neither a sense of urgency nor contingency plans to deal with the looming disaster.
As many as 36 countries are identified as the   most water-stressed. Pakistan is one of them. In fact, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cautions that Pakistan is ‘not far from being classified as ‘water scarce’ with less than 1,000 cubic meters per person per year.
Pakistan’s water storage capacity is confined to a 30-day supply, which is well below the recommended 1,000 days for regions with a similar climate, the ADB report said.
“For an average, ordinary nation this would have been a dreadful situation. But the authorities in Pakistan appear to be complacent about the approaching terrible circumstances”, laments The Times of Islamabad.
A signed dispatch said, “Broadly speaking, our community is a religious one but we do not give importance to water preservation in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Prophet Mohammad is believed to have said, “Conserve water even if you are on the bank of a river.” Even so water is wasted ruthlessly. Most of the people who have plenty of water to access keep the tap running while brushing their teeth, shaving their beards, or doing dishes etc. Generally, leakages in water pipes go unnoticed”.
Pakistan is an agricultural country and accounts for 43 percent of the country’s labour force. For agriculture, water is an indispensable resource. There are also a lot of industries that consume a large quantity of water. Pakistan is the third largest producer of milk in the world. And it means more water that too supply of good quality water.
All these spheres will be gravely affected in case of a water shortage writes Siraj Shawa in Times of Islamabad.    “If some remedial measures are not taken in time, the lingering water crisis will soon be at our doors, and the whole nation will have to face dire consequences. We are on the verge of encountering a situation that might prove to be the most precarious one we ever faced in our history if not dealt with promptly and sagaciously”.
Pakistan is heading for water wars between provinces. Already Balochistan has been at logger heads with the Sindh while Punjab is locked in a long rennin water feud with both Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Sindh.  Punjab stands accused of using more water at the cost of other provinces. Now Balochistan is charging Sindh with stealing its share of water – some 6,000 to 7,000 cusecs from the Indus River System.  Since 1991 to 2014, Balochistan got almost 50% less water than it demanded that resulted in loss of around Rs.93 billion to the province, say Baloch leaders. On its part, Sindh has been pointing an accusing finger at Punjab and says that due to water shortage, around five million acres has turned barren, and resulted in loss worth tens of billions to the province.
Low rainfall and silting are resulting in low water storage in the few reservoirs the country has. Salinity make it even worse. The quality of ground water is deteriorating. So is the underground water level.  Water is pumped out on a faster rate than it is replenished. Reservoirs and aquifers are also drying up rapidly.
This situation calls for construction of more water reservoirs to save the country from a terrible water crisis and to ensure sustainable future socio-economic development of the country. Water is pumped out from ground on a faster rate than it is replenished naturally.
The total dam storage capacity in Pakistan, as of now, is enough to meet only 30 days of average demand compared to 220 days in India and 1,000 days in Egypt.
Pakistan has built only three mega dams and scores of small barrages since 1947 while China has built 22,000 and India constructed 4,200 small and large dams to meet their water needs.
Per capita water storage in the US stands at 6,150 cubic meters, in Australia at 5,000 cubic meters, but in Pakistan it is only 135 cubic meters, which shows that Pakistan is highly vulnerable in terms of water storage capacity.
IMF estimates that demand for water in Pakistan will reach 274 million acre-feet (MAF) by 2025 while due to lack of water storage facilities, supply will remain stagnant at 191 MAF showing a demand-supply gap of 83 MAF.
Sadly, the sense of exigency to come to grips with the impending water shortage crisis is absent on the part of Pakistan government, and this is perturbing, say both experts and the media
Since Pakistan economy is on thin ice, it will hit the skids if water management does not get top billing. Instead of indulging in the rhetoric that India is waging water war, egg heads in Islamabad will do well to evolve an all-inclusive water strategy, and tap into the excess water that goes waste every year after year during floods. Otherwise Pakistan must brace up to face water emergency.
-YAAMAAR