HYDERABAD, Aug 31: Quality of the Indus water between the Kotri Barrage and the sea has been significantly affected due to reduced discharge to the delta region and it is not suitable for human consumption or any agricultural purposes below the Sujawal bridge.

While out of 12 fresh water lakes of Sindh, water quality of only three — Keenjhar, Haleji and Chhotiari — was found acceptable for human consumption.

The water quality of Hub reservoir, which caters to the needs of Karachi, is near the borderline for the permissible limits.

Taj Mohammad Jahangir said this during a Ph.D seminar on the topic of “Water quality assessment of surface and ground water resources of Sindh” at the Sindh University on Thursday.

Mr Jahangir said samples of water were collected from the Kotri barrage to Keti Bundar.

He said the purpose was to examine the water quality, which was released down the Kotri barrage to the sea and the effect of sea on the Indus delta. He said water and soil samples were also collected in between distance of about 20 Km to cover the entire region.

He said variation in water quality of the Indus in coastal region had been noted. He said water samples from Keenjhar, Haleji, (Thatta) Karar, (Hyderabad) Hamal and Drigh lakes (Larkana) were collected and analysed for water quality assessment and results were compared with the WHO standards for fresh water lakes.

Mr Taj said there were many fresh water lakes near Sanghar, which had an approximate area of 5 Km and the total area of lakes is about 37 Km. He said Chotyari reservoir had been constructed to enhance the water storage capacity of these lakes and the total covered area could be up to 70Km.

He said water samples were collected from Baquar, Tajar, Phulel, Sao Naro, Nimwari, Pokhial, Suro, Makhi and Seri lakes to cover the whole region. He said sampling was carried out during the year 1997 and 2003.