ISLAMABAD: Water crises are intensifying in Pakistan’s two major cities, Quetta and Islamabad, raising alarm over public health and urban sustainability.
Quetta is on the brink of becoming a “ghost city,” with the water table plunging 300 feet over the past decade, now dropping nearly 30 feet annually. Even, there is possibility of relocating the capital if the situation worsens.
Meanwhile, Islamabad grapples with severe water contamination, heightening health risks for residents. Concerns about “blue-baby syndrome,” a condition linked to nitrates in drinking water, have escalated among health officials.
In Quetta and four other cities designated as “dark zones,” groundwater levels have plummeted to alarming depths, with some areas reporting levels below 1,200 feet. Officials of the Ministry of Water resources warned.
“Quetta is going to become a ghost city. So many turbine deep wells have been installed in the suburbs that we will have to shift the capital to another location in a few years,” Syed Ali Murtaza, Secretary of Water Resources, warned while briefing a parliamentary panel on Monday.
From 2010 to 2021, districts throughout Balochistan have experienced widespread depletion, with some areas reporting declines of over 300 feet. Quetta, the provincial capital, saw its water table drop from 300 feet in 2010 to 600 feet in 2021, marking an average depletion of 30 feet per year, according to an official document presented before the panel.
Secretary Murtaza cautioned that even if groundwater extraction were halted immediately, it would take 30 years for the water table to fully recover. “If we don’t regulate this now, agriculture and orchards will collapse. Even solar-powered systems will struggle to bring water to the surface in Balochistan,” Murtaza said, adding that the region could face total water collapse within three to four years.
There is no “engineering solution” to this. Small dams, canals, and minor interventions will not work. The only solution is to stop groundwater extraction, Murtaza emphasized, calling for urgent enforcement of water regulations to prevent disaster.
The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources, chaired by Senator Shahadat Awan, raised concerns Monday about the severe groundwater shortage in Balochistan. He said that despite the declining groundwater levels, the federal government has been solarizing tube wells in Balochistan.
Meanwhile, Islamabad is facing a significant public health crisis due to severely contaminated drinking water. Major pollutants, including nitrates, have been detected, posing serious health risks such as “blue-baby syndrome” in infants, a condition that occurs when nitrites deplete oxygen in red blood cells. Additionally, coliform bacteria found in the water suggest contamination from harmful pathogens, which can lead to diarrhea, nausea, and cramps.
He stated that Islamabad’s water supply is critically low, with the city receiving only 80 million gallons per day (MGD) against a demand of 129 MGD. This supply is sourced from outdated pipelines connected to Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam, Rawal Dam, and tube wells.
A document presented to the committee regarding the situation in Balochistan, groundwater levels across the province have significantly dropped over the past decade. Qila Abdullah recorded one of the most dramatic declines, with groundwater levels plunging by 350 feet, or about 32 feet annually. Pishin’s water levels fell from 300 feet to 650 feet, while Mastung experienced a drop of 120 feet during the same period.
Other districts, including Loralai and Zhob, saw annual declines ranging from 12 to 18 feet. In Jhal Magsi, the water table fell by 280 feet, and in Lasbella, the drop reached 180 feet. Nasirabad experienced a 240-foot decline, with an average of 20 feet lost per year. Even sparsely populated areas like Kharan and Awaran witnessed reductions exceeding 100 feet in just a decade.
“The current rate of depletion is simply not sustainable,” a senior hydrologist based in Quetta told the committee. “Unless urgent measures are taken to regulate groundwater extraction, Balochistan could face severe water scarcity in the coming years.”
The Additional Secretary of the Irrigation Department of Balochistan acknowledged the issue but pointed out that existing Balochistan Ground Water Rights Administration Ordinance of 1978 lack enforcement power. Senate Chairman Shahadat Awan pressed for legislation to strengthen the water regulations, with officials requesting six months to reshape the existing laws.
He said that a ban exists on installing tube wells without district water committee approval. However, violations are common, further worsening the crisis. Syed Mehar Ali Shah, Additional Secretary of Water Resources, informed the committee that despite requests in 2019 for more stringent monitoring of groundwater levels, the situation has not improved. He urged the provincial government to decide whether newly constructed dams are intended for groundwater recharge or irrigation, warning that focusing on irrigation would only accelerate groundwater depletion.
The committee emphasized the need for immediate action, citing the critical role of sustainable water management in preventing a full-blown crisis in Balochistan. Regarding Islamabad’s contaminated water issues, secretary water resources informed, “We have submitted an international standards report to the caretaker government earlier this year. This is a governance issue,”
Another official Syed Mehar Ali Shah, additional secretary of water resources, said efforts to regulate water safety through law have stalled. “We presented a draft to the Cabinet after securing approval from the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC). However, the Cabinet redirected the matter to the Ministry of Interior and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in February 2024.” A CDA official stated that water is tested every two months, attributing the contamination to poor wastewater treatment infrastructure.
The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), under the Ministry of Water Resources, reported that of the 127 tube wells supplying water to Islamabad, 22 are unsafe. Additionally, 39 out of 108 water plants are deemed unsafe, and five of the city’s 12 waterworks show dangerous contamination levels. The rural water supply is most alarming, with 33 out of 41 systems testing positive for nitrate and microbial contamination.
The parliamentary panel instructed PCRWR to submit a comprehensive water quality report within two weeks. Additionally, groundwater levels in the capital have been rapidly declining. Once at a depth of 35-40 feet in the 1960s, the water table now sits between 150-300 feet, depleting by an average of 3-4 feet annually.