KARACHI: Tapping rainwater, plugging infrastructural flaws, sealing leakages and addressing the “deep-rooted corruption” in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) are some of the urgent and practical solutions offered by experts on Saturday to resolve the city’s persistent water crisis.

These measures were highlighted and discussed at length by engineers, urban planners and former officials at a seminar titled “Karachi Water Crisis & Its Solutions,” held under the “Rebuild Karachi” initiative of the Pakistan Engineering Forum at a local hotel.

At the same time water resource experts, urban planners and political stakeholders also raised serious concerns over the ongoing deprivation of Karachi’s residents from their basic right to clean water, pointing to the crumbling infrastructure of the KWSC, rampant “official theft,” entrenched corruption within the utility, chronic mismanagement of rainwater and the persistent apathy of both provincial and federal authorities toward the city’s growing crisis.

During the seminar, experts in engineering, infrastructure development and former senior officials of the KWSC highlighted how particularly during the last two decades of nepotism, political compromises, and a prevailing culture of neglect have fostered corruption and enabled exploitation of the city’s water resources. They were of the view that these systemic issues have led to the near-total collapse of the city’s water supply system.

Karachi can have enough water if rainwater and other resources are properly managed, moot told

Prof Dr Syed Imran Ahmed of the NED University of Engineering & Technology cited his extensive research over the past two decades—conducted for both the KWSC and the World Bank — which has been instrumental in identifying the challenges and critical importance of water supply in Karachi.

Referring to his 2020 study, Prof Ahmed candidly shared his findings, stating, “I set out to investigate the issue of water theft, and while I hesitate to say this, the truth is that the theft was official — not by KWSC itself, but by certain other officials.”

He also dispelled the misconception about water scarcity, emphasising that Karachi could have more than enough water if rainwater and other available resources were properly managed. He shared the findings of his studies of two major resources of water supply to Karachi – Hub Dam and Keenjhar Lake.

“Karachi is an arid area and on an average we receive nine-inch rain,” said Prof Ahmed. “But through watersheds between Keenjhar Lake and Karachi we can tap 1.83 million acre feet water after every single rain. What do we need? We need some infrastructure to have this amount of water. And all this water, which is scattered, would be available even for agriculture purposes.”

Muhammad Bashir Lakhani, a renowned water resources expert and project consultant for the K-IV initiative, shed light on the city’s alarming water shortfall during the seminar.

He explained that the city, with a population of nearly 30m, receives only 550 million gallons per day (MGD).

“First, there’s an inadequate supply, and then even that limited amount doesn’t fully make it into the city’s distribution system,” Mr Lakhani said.

“We have the capacity to receive up to 680 MGD daily, but our outdated infrastructure simply can’t handle it. We face issues with transmission capacity, malfunctioning pumping stations, and critical flaws in the operational system. For example, we release 100 MGD from Hub Dam, but by the time it reaches the Manghopir Reservoir, it’s reduced to just 60 MGD,” he said.

Mr Lakhani went on to challenge the official narrative regarding water “leakages” that account for the missing supply. In his view, the reality is far more concerning.

“It’s not leakage — it’s theft,” he asserted. “The same volume of water that’s officially reported as lost is actually being consumed by illegal hydrants and water tankers. Before we can fix these issues, we need to see the situation for what it really is,” he said.

In his address, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Monem Zafar slammed the continued neglect of Karachi’s water crisis, calling out government inefficiency, unfair resource distribution and systemic underreporting of the city’s population.

“Karachi is the fifth-largest city in the world and the largest in Pakistan, with a real population of over 35 million people—far beyond the officially reported 20.3 million. This deliberate undercounting has systematically deprived Karachi’s residents of their due rights, resources and representation,” he said.

Highlighting the paradox of a coastal city suffering from acute water shortages, he said that despite being right next to the sea, Karachi remains thirsty. There’s no scarcity of water—there is a scarcity of justice in its distribution, the JI leader added.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2025