KARACHI, June 6: The Orangi Pilot Project’s research and training institute has recommended to improve the existing water supply system in the city instead of laying more pipelines.

More than 150 million gallons of potable water is lost daily in the city due to leakages and theft of water by various means.

“Pipelines exist in various areas, but there is no water,” OPP Director, Parveen Rahman, told APP.

She suggested that besides plugging all kinds of leakages, water tanker service be regulating by registering all these tankers with Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. There were only 10,000 tankers registered with KWSB while at least 50,000 tankers were supplying this scarce commodity in the city, she maintained.

She said in many cases supply pipes have less capacity to carry water against the supply from the pumps which lead to burst of pipelines due to excess pressure of water.

The authorities should focus on tax collection as the main source to finance water supply system, adding people in kutchi abadis who were paying Rs 600 per month for a tanker supply, they would be very happy to pay water tax if the water supply is ensured, she said.

The OPP director stressed the need for documenting water supply system in the city to help check all kinds of faults and irregularities, including theft of water.

“There exists no map of this mega water supply system in the city,” she said.

She said the OPP-RTI has, however, documented and mapped main natural nullahs and drains in various areas of the city, including Malir, Korangi, Saddar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and New Karachi.

She said natural nullahs and drains be accepted as the main source to dispose sewage and the authorities should focus on desilting and development of these as box trunks (covered drains).

Parveen Rahman said 80 per cent sewage goes untreated into the sea and called for building of sewage treatment plants at the locations where the nullahs/drains submerge into the sea.