THE Sindh chief secretary has ordered a grand operation against water theft in Karachi and directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board chief to take action against persons involved in water theft.

In addition to water theft, there is heavy wastage of drinking water. In the affluent areas of the city people wash cars and driveways with hose pipes directly connected to the water pump. The pressurised water causes thousands of gallons of drinking water to go waste. A visit in the early morning in these areas will show the mounting wastage of drinking water.

The chief secretary should direct the KWSB to conduct surprise checks and apprehend those wasting drinking water. The culprits should be put behind bars to serve as a major deterrent for others.

Another effective strategy to prevent drinking water wastage is to initiate water metering which will automatically put a stop to wastage. This is the global practice for drinking water supply.

According to reports, Pakistan’s water availability has reduced to 935 cubic metres per capita per year at present from 5,260 cubic meters in 1947. It is estimated it will fall to 860 cubic metres/capita per year in the next few years, and further to 500 cubic metres/capita per year, if water conservation is not practiced.

Water stress starts when the water available in a country drops below 4,600 litres/day per person. When the 2,700 litre/day per person threshold is crossed, water scarcity is experienced. Absolute water scarcity is considered when 1,400 litre/day per person threshold is reached. By this definition, Pakistan is an extremely high water-stressed country. In fact, Pakistan ranks 14 in the list of countries with extremely high water stress.

The volume of water on the planet is 326 million cubic miles. About 97 per cent of the earth’s water is found in the oceans (too salty for drinking). Nearly three per cent of the earth’s water is fresh, of which 2.5pc is unavailable (locked up in glaciers and polar ice caps). Only 0.5pc is available as fresh water. If the world’s water supply were only 100 litres, the usable water supply of fresh water would be only about 0.003 litre (one-half of a teaspoon).

F. H. Mughal

Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2019