It is difficult to escape the fact that the gravity of water crisis in our country is mind-boggling. The fact is reflected from the following statistics. Since 2000, Pakistan is facing water crisis mainly because of little rainfall during monsoons.
The country's rainfall level is 41 per cent less than the normal. This shortfall is 88 per cent in Sindh, 71 per cent in Balochistan, 31 per cent in Punjab and four per cent in the NWFP.
The water situation is worsened because of the little snowmelt owing to low summer temperatures in the Northern Areas. Tarbela, one of the main reservoirs, depends heavily on snowmelt with an estimated 80 per cent contributing to rainwater.
Water availability for the winter crops has been fallen by almost 50 per cent this year. Last year, water available for Rabi crops was 9.4 million-acre feet (MAF). This year the amount has dropped to 5.5 MAF.
The current situation is that the water available for Rabi crops in all four provinces is less than the requirements. Among others, the non-availability of water for irrigation during critical growth stages of wheat crop has resulted in low yield per unit area of that crop.
The shortfall in the country has given rise to wheat crisis. Over eight million hectares in different aro-ecologicaal zones are lying barren due to the non-availability of water to irrigate these lands.
The absence of rain has also contributed to a fall in the sub-soil water levels. In some areas of Balochistan, it has dropped to 700-800 feet. According to the UN report, Pakistan is fast approaching the critical threshold of chronic water shortage.
It should be borne in mind that fresh water is a precious commodity and its supply, distribution and composition have to be carefully planned and monitored. The over-exploitation of groundwater has reduced the water table in some parts of the country.
This area also needs proper attention. Huge amount of salts contained in underground water from the parent material has rendered a number of fields in the irrigated tract barren due to the widespread salinity.
If one were to identify the water-related problems that need to be addressed, the list would be unending. It includes the problems associated with the canal irrigation system as well as the issue of construction of new dams and canals.
Water losses in the form of seepage and percolation from the canal irrigation system during conveyance and distribution are considerable if prevented hundreds of acres of uncultivated land can be brought under plough.
In the backdrop of these losses, about 35 per cent water losses from major and minor canals, 24 per cent from watercourses and field channels and 25 per cent goes waste during field application.
Water saving through water conservation techniques and making in vogue an efficient system of irrigation would help to avert the negative impact of water deficiency.
Hundreds of thousands of fields have become unproductive in the irrigated areas due to widespread problem of water-logging and salinity. Corrective measures are needed if these losses are to be curtailed. These include the lining of canals and water channels.
Between 30-40maf of surface water is going waste to the Arabian Sea annually since the construction of Tarbela dam since 1976, thus causing a huge loss to the nation. The construction of Kalabagh dam has been made a contentious issue due to politicization and provincialization. Despondency has set in.
It is being recognized that only the state has the capacity and the resources to address the water-related problems. Lining of canals and watercourses is indeed a pragmatic approach to plug the losses in a bid to improve the irrigation efficiency of the system.
It is indeed a big challenge for the government to build a national consensus on Kalabagh Dam. If the construction of Kalabagh dam starts now, it will be a great success. A few weeks back, the government has taken a number of important decisions to analyze water situation in the country and to remove all related problems.
The setting-up a high-level permanent national water council (NWC) is the most important decision. The approval of the national water policy is another important decision taken at high level.
The policy envisages complete reorganization of water sector institutions through mergers, economic utilization of the water resources of the country, procurement of additional storage for crops round the year, building storage to overcome droughts and to develop comprehensive water and hydro resource policy.
Water regulatory commissions will be established at the provincial level in order to implement the decisions of the high level council in letter and spirit. A national water commission will also be formed through the merger of chief engineering advisor organization, planning institutions and the federal food organization.
The commission will assist the NWC in its functioning. All these decisions are an ample proof of the fact that the government is keen on addressing the water- related problems confronted to the country over the past few decades or so.