• Wahab asks KWSC to draft citywide water plan before phasing out tanker services, shutting hydrants
• Says goal is equitable water distribution, not politics
• Utility sources say closure of hydrants would hit DHA the hardest
• Claims decision, if implemented, won’t improve city’s supply

KARACHI: While Mayor Murtaza Wahab outlined his plan to eventually dismantle the decades‑old water‑tanker system, officials at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) voiced scepticism, saying it would not be possible to entirely shut down hydrants and end tanker services given the existing water infrastructure.

Talking to the reporters on Wednesday after inaugurating the Jehangir Road rehabilitation project, the mayor, who is also the chairman of the KWSC board, said that water tankers and hydrants have been operating in Karachi for decades, largely filling gaps where the piped water supply does not reach.

However, he stressed that the system has created inequities, with benefits flowing to select groups while blame is unfairly placed on the city administration.

“There is water in the city, but the real issue is its unjust distribution,” the mayor said, adding that his administration has already “shut down” several illegal hydrants.

He said that the contracts of seven legal hydrants have expired, leaving the city with a choice: renew the contracts or permanently close the hydrants.

Mr Wahab said that he had proposed a third option — the gradual dismantling of the hydrant and tanker system — but emphasised that such a step could not be taken without a comprehensive alternative plan.

“If hydrants are closed, how will water reach areas that depend on tankers? I have asked officials of the KWSC to develop a practical and citywide water supply strategy. We want to end this system, but responsibly,” he said.

According to the mayor, once the KWSC finalises its proposal, it will be presented to the City Council for approval. Only after formal approval will tanker services be phased out, and work on this strategy is currently underway.

Rejecting political motives behind the move, he said that his party had no hidden agenda. “This hydrant system was inherited. The beneficiaries are someone else, but the accusations are directed at us,” he said.

He acknowledged that Karachi faces a genuine water shortage but reiterated that equitable distribution remains the administration’s key objective.

‘Hydrants closure may hit DHA hardest’

According to sources who spoke to Dawn, the mayor was told in a meeting with the water utility’s senior management that a decision had to be made on renewing the hydrant contracts, which had already expired about seven months earlier.

They said the mayor had instructed the KWSC to consider shutting down the city’s hydrants in order to achieve a fairer distribution of water.

The sources said that closing the hydrants would not improve the city’s water supply, as only 15-20 million gallons of water daily (MGD), or 3.5 per cent of the total 650 MGD, was delivered through tankers.

They said that the proposed closure of hydrants would hit Defence Housing Authority’s 5, 6, 7 and 8 phases the hardest, because these areas relied almost entirely on tanker deliveries to meet their daily water needs.

A DHA resident said that people in those phases already faced limited line supply and were forced to buy water from tankers, and the situation would worsen if hydrants were shut down.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2026