MULTAN, Nov 1 About 70 per cent of the country's water goes waste during irrigation, and in watercourses and canals due to seepage, says Mass Awareness for Water Conservation and Development Project Regional Project Manager Shafqat Niaz Kang.

“The country has 140 million acre feet river water resources, of which 83 million acre feet go waste every year,” Mr Kang told a press conference here on Sunday.

He said by conserving the 50 per cent of wasted water, Pakistan could be able to store more water from its existing water resources. He said it was the need of the time that they overcame the water crisis looming rapidly. He said that according to a UN estimate, a country with annual water availability below 1,000 cubic metres per capita would be considered the country facing water scarcity while according to a survey the annual water availability in Pakistan was 1,000 cubic metres per capita.

He said that per capita annual water availability was 5,700 cubic metres in 1947, 5,300 in 1951, 2,700 in 1971, 1,600 in 1991 and 1,200 in 2001.

He said according to an estimate the country could face a sever water shortage in 2012. He said that for the conservation of water, it was necessary to adopt modern ways to irrigate the lands.

He said water could be preserve by concreting watercourses and their proper inspection, besides in time desilting of canals and watercourses as 40 to 45 per cent of the water was wasted due to the seepage.

He said that unleveled farm lands and improper irrigation methods claimed 30 to 40 per cent of the water.

He said the wastage of water could be minimised by the keeping the size of the field as per the availability of water and land situation, irrigating through concerted watercourses, leveling of land through laser-leveling and adopting modern irrigation methods.

He said irrigation through fountain could control the water waste. He said that through drip and sprinkler irrigation, only 20 to 30 per cent of water was required and it helped increase the yield production by 25 per cent.

He urged domestic consumers to close taps while applying soap to dishes, use a separate bowl or a basin to dip dirty dishes in soap and water so that less waster was used in rinsing. He suggested that bucket and sponge be used while washing vehicles.