Pakistan’s water scarcity has been intensifying with each passing year. River flows are becoming increasingly variable and unreliable, groundwater tables are declining, and crop water requirements are rising due to increasing temperatures. Together, these trends are creating mounting pressure on an already stressed water system. This worsening situation calls for large-scale improvement in water storage and conservation infrastructure.
From a water conservation perspective, Pakistan’s agriculture sector represents the highest-priority area for intervention, as it accounts for more than 90 per cent of national water consumption. There is now a growing realisation that without conserving water, sustaining the existing cropped area may become increasingly difficult in the years ahead, let alone expanding it to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population.
Within the agriculture sector, flood irrigation and unlined (kacha) watercourses remain two major sources of water losses that need policy attention.
Recognising this challenge as early as the mid-1970s, the On-Farm Water Management programme was initiated, with a particular focus on improving the last segment of the irrigation conveyance system — the community watercourses that carry water from canals and distributaries to farmers’ fields. At that time, it was estimated that nearly half of the water was being lost through seepage, leakage, spillage, and evaporation in these watercourses. As a result, a large-scale initiative was launched to line watercourses with bricks and concrete, along with the construction of associated siphons and culverts.
In many areas where water was once accessible at a depth of around 20 feet, it has now fallen to more than 100 feet, significantly increasing pumping costs.
At that time, multiple studies were conducted to assess the relationship between the investment cost of watercourse lining, the extent of water savings achieved, and the resulting return on investment. These studies concluded that lining up to 50pc of a watercourse’s total length yielded the highest economic return.
However, policymakers initially adopted a more conservative approach for the improvement of over 90,000 watercourses across the country, including more than 58,000 in Punjab alone. Lining was initially capped at 15pc in fresh groundwater areas and 30pc in brackish zones. Later, in 2012, a uniform limit of 30pc was introduced. In 2015, this limit was raised to 50pc in Punjab, in line with research dating back to the 1970s.
Current data from the Punjab Agriculture Department shows that more than 51,000 watercourses — around 90pc of the total — have been improved in Punjab. A substantial number were upgraded through precast parabolic lining, which is more cost-effective and quicker to install than conventional brick-and-concrete structures. Of these, around 38,000 watercourses were lined up to 30pc of their length, while over 13,000 received lining up to the authorised 50pc limit under a cost-sharing arrangement between farmers and the government.
The remaining 10pc of unimproved watercourses largely comprise those that have become non-functional due to urbanisation, as well as those where farmers, owing to local disputes, enmities, or other social constraints, were unable to develop consensus and mobilise their required contribution. As a result, the demand for initial watercourse lining has now largely reached saturation. However, there remains an overwhelming unmet demand among farmers for extending lining on watercourses that were only partially improved in the past.
Nevertheless, increasing the lining from 30pc to 50pc remains justified, as earlier studies supported this threshold, and the government should allocate the necessary funds to implement it. However, extending the lining beyond the 50pc raises a fundamental question: has water scarcity — and, consequently, the economic value of water — reached a level where incremental water savings can generate adequate returns on investment to justify the extension?
Over the past 50 years, the situation has changed dramatically. Per capita water availability has declined from 2,800 cubic metres in the 1970s to less than 1,000 cubic metres, pushing Pakistan from a water-abundant country to a water-scarce one.
The groundwater table has also declined sharply, largely due to increasing reliance on groundwater extraction as canal water supplies remain inadequate. Consequently, in many areas where water was once accessible at a depth of around 20 feet in the 1970s, it has now fallen to more than 100 feet, significantly increasing groundwater pumping costs.
Rising energy costs alongside deteriorating water availability have fundamentally altered the entire equation and increased the economic value of water significantly. Consequently, a benchmark once regarded as “financially optimal” may now require reassessment in light of changed ground realities.
Moreover, canal water carries suspended sediments and dissolved nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and other micronutrients — inputs that would otherwise be very costly to apply through chemical fertilisers, under prevailing conditions.
In this context, it has become necessary to undertake comprehensive studies across different agro-ecological zones to evaluate the true value of water. These studies should incorporate new variables that have emerged in recent years, including environmental costs linked to a higher carbon footprint from groundwater pumping. The findings can inform a reassessment of the optimal extent of watercourse lining under present-day conditions.
Chaudhary Mohammad Ashraff is the former director general (On-Farm Water Management) of the Punjab Agriculture Department, and Khalid Wattoo is a development professional and a farmer.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 25th, 2026