KARACHI: Three main lines supplying water to the metropolis burst at the Dhabeji pumping station on Monday due to a power breakdown, causing a shortfall of 140 million gallons per day (MGD).

The Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said that three key transmission mains of 72-inch diameter were damaged after a sudden power breakdown at around 2:30pm.

A spokesperson for the water utility said that one of the damaged line would be repaired by Tuesday (today) and water supply would be restored through it by the evening.

“With the restoration of Line-5, the shortfall will be around 50MGD to 60MGD,” he added.

The spokesperson said that the power outage struck the second phase of the Dhabeji pumping station, a critical facility supplying a major share of the city’s water.

“The sudden loss of electricity brought operations to a halt, causing back pressure in the system that ruptured two PRCC lines and one MS line,” he said, adding that repeated, unannounced power breakdowns by K-Electric continued to destabilise the city’s water supply system. “Such outages not only disrupt daily operations but also damage critical infrastructure, driving up maintenance costs and operational challenges,” he added.

However, the KE conceded that a cable fault hit the Dhabeji pumping station. “Despite the fault, power supply continued to 18 out of 22 motors at the pumping station,” it said.

It said that electricity was being supplied to the remaining four motors through alternate sources.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2026