KARACHI: The persistent shortfall in water supply, now in its second week, aggravates the city’s water problems as residents face acute shortage amid mounting difficulties.

The crisis began last Tuesday when the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) shut down a key conduit to interconnect a newly laid 72-inch diameter pipeline to replace the dilapidated Line No.5 near Dhabeji Pumping Station.

The planned interconnection immediately created a 250MGD shortfall, roughly 40 per cent of the city’s total daily supply of 650MGD against a demand of over 1,200MGD.

The water utility restored 100MGD by the next evening, but the relief was short-lived as a major power breakdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station later that night tripped multiple pumps.

Korangi, Malir, Jinnah Town, Saddar, DHA and Clifton worst-hit; leakages at two points in 72-inch conduit in Gulshan-i-Hadeed could not be plugged

Three 72-inch diameter lines supplying water to the metropolis had burst at the Dhabeji pumping station on Monday due to a power breakdown, causing a shortfall of 140 million gallons per day (MGD).

The unexpected outage damaged key installations at Dhabeji, affecting three main supply lines and disrupting water supply to several areas, including Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Korangi, Malir, Chanesar, Jinnah Town, Saddar Town, and Clifton.

The KWSC said that emergency repair crews worked round the clock and restored the three burst lines by Friday. However, during pressure testing, two fresh leakages were detected in the 72-inch Line No. 5 at Gulshan-i-Hadeed. The repair work on the damaged line is still in progress.

A spokesman for the water utility said that the net shortfall on Thursday stood at 80MGD. “With Line 5 still offline, Korangi, Malir, Jinnah Town, Saddar, DHA and Clifton remain worst-hit,” he added. However, reports of acute water shortage continued to pour in from across the city.

Abdul Ghafoor, a resident of Malir, said that he had not seen tap water for the past one week. “I paid Rs6,000 for a water tanker yesterday,” he told Dawn on Thursday.

A housewife in Saddar said that her kids had not bathed properly before school for the past one week. “There has been no water in my area for the past five days,” she complained.

Orangi Town resident Muhammad Ashraf said he had to walk to nearby house of his younger brother to fetch a can of water for toilet use. “The KWSC always has one pretext or the other in its failure to ensure smooth water supply in the city,” he deplored.

Fazalur Rahman, a resident of DHA, said that the dilapidated water distribution network and patchwork repairs by the KWSC would not end the cycle of water shortage in the city. “You can’t run a 2026 megacity on 1950s pipes with 2026 demand,” he snapped.

A North Nazimabad resident said that people were checking their taps each morning and bracing for another dry day. “First there is no gas for cooking. Now no water for drinking,” he lamented.

A rickshaw driver living in Hijrat Colony said that he could not afford to buy water. “Who will feed my family?” he asked.

The water utility spokesman, however, claimed that 570 million gallons of water out of the city’s total 650 million gallons was being supplied in phases following the completion of repair work on one of the major supply lines.

EIB to support KWSC

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will support the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) to improve water supply and distribution services across the city.

According to a press statement, the Implementation Agreement was signed on Thursday for setting up modern water filtration plants and upgrading distribution systems at key locations.

KWSC Managing Director Ahmed Ali Siddiqui and EIB Head of Division Edvardas Bumsteinas signed the agreement in the presence of Mayor of Karachi and KWSC Chairman Barrister Murtaza Wahab.

In the first phase, state-of-the-art filtration plants will be established at Gharo and Pipri, using advanced purification technology and monitoring systems to boost supply efficiency.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2026