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As water disappears
Water is life. As water disappears, so does life. The present crisis in Thar could not have portrayed this tragic relationship more poignantly. Pakistan is not heading towards, but already is, in a water crisis situation. Every report has warned that Pakistan is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world.
The shock of seeing Pakistan alongside Ethiopia on the world water map only makes sense to us when we think of the Thar famine and the death and disease it has caused. But what still does not register is that very soon, like loadshedding and gas shedding, we will have water shedding if we just wait for dams to be constructed and India to become more generous.
The fact that at present Pakistan possesses only 30 days of water reserves while the minimum for similar climates required is 1,000 days is a confirmation of the risks we are incurring with each passing day; just the way we ignored the electricity shortfall till it was too late.
We are blessed with plentiful water supply and we need to preserve this precious resource. Most discussions are centred on water shortage, but the terrible quality of water is another topic that should be a cause of grave concern.
Seventy-five percent of the population consumes unsafe and contaminated drinking water. Studies carried out on water in major cities like Islamabad and Lahore have the same ratio: one can imagine what rural water quality must be where arsenic content has reached poisonous levels. Forty percent of communicable diseases are waterborne. According to the International Union on Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 60 percent of infant deaths are caused by waterborne diarrhoea in Pakistan, the highest in Asia.
The solutions to these problems are twofold – water development and water management. Water development is all about increasing water capacity by building new reservoirs; water management is about conserving and saving water by reducing leakages and losses. Much has been written about building water dams and reservoirs.
Somehow the dam controversy has been linked with the Kalabagh controversy. However, there are many other dams that need to be build and unless a clear water policy is not announced by the government and is given due debate in the assembly, water shortage will remain a volcano waiting to erupt any time. There has to be a ‘national water policy’ and then a consensus to develop a roadmap to proactively deal with a crisis we all know is round the corner.
Water management strategies include changing crop patterns, using drip or sprinkling irrigation, legislating on water usage, stopping water theft and wastage, reviewing water accords and treaties especially those with India to prevent exploitation etc. All these need urgent planning and implementation at the state level. Research shows that water is best conserved if you let water users manage it. That is why the world over the success of letting farmers become managers of water has had resounding results.
Similarly when household users are involved in conserving water, the results are very encouraging. The success of water management in countries that are blessed with much less water than Pakistan is not only due to better government policies but an extremely effective citizen awareness and engagement programme at the household level where each citizen feels responsible for saving every drop of water.
The ignorance of how gallons of water are being wasted by each of us is almost criminal. Thus, till we find a government that can solve all water development and management issues, we need to raise awareness among all citizens on ways to save water. Simple things like just becoming conscious of small household checks can save a huge amount of water. Small leaks in pipes should be stopped immediately as 20 gallons of water per day will be wasted with small leakages. With large leakages it can amount to hundreds and thousands of gallons, depending on the size of the leakage. Toilets should not be used as ashtrays or trash bins. Every time we flush a cigarette, or a tissue etc in the toilet, five to seven gallons of water gets wasted.
Putting the shower on before taking a bath is a huge drainage on water as five to 10 gallons of water is wasted on every unneeded minute. Having leaking tubes lying in the lawn for unlimited times wastes 100 to 500 gallons of water per hour.
Another water guzzler is car washing. Do not use the hosepipe to wash the car endlessly causing a flood around the car and on the floor. Use a soap-filled pail; soap the car with it and then use water to clear the soap and a car cloth to dry it. You can save 150 to 200 gallons of water like this. Do not wash driveways and floors with pipes but with water in pails and brooms and cleaning cloth.
Water wastage is a sin in our religion as well. However, we commit this sin daily. All revolutions start with a change in mindset and if we as citizens start taking responsibility of every drop of water that we use, it will start a water movement that in time will force the media and the government to follow suit.
The writer is an analyst and columnist.
Email: andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com
As water disappears - Andleeb Abbas
Water is life. As water disappears, so does life. The present crisis in Thar could not have portrayed this tragic relationship more poignantly. Pakistan is not heading towards, but already is, in a water crisis situation. Every report has warned that Pakistan is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world.
The shock of seeing Pakistan alongside Ethiopia on the world water map only makes sense to us when we think of the Thar famine and the death and disease it has caused. But what still does not register is that very soon, like loadshedding and gas shedding, we will have water shedding if we just wait for dams to be constructed and India to become more generous.
The fact that at present Pakistan possesses only 30 days of water reserves while the minimum for similar climates required is 1,000 days is a confirmation of the risks we are incurring with each passing day; just the way we ignored the electricity shortfall till it was too late.
We are blessed with plentiful water supply and we need to preserve this precious resource. Most discussions are centred on water shortage, but the terrible quality of water is another topic that should be a cause of grave concern.
Seventy-five percent of the population consumes unsafe and contaminated drinking water. Studies carried out on water in major cities like Islamabad and Lahore have the same ratio: one can imagine what rural water quality must be where arsenic content has reached poisonous levels. Forty percent of communicable diseases are waterborne. According to the International Union on Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 60 percent of infant deaths are caused by waterborne diarrhoea in Pakistan, the highest in Asia.
The solutions to these problems are twofold – water development and water management. Water development is all about increasing water capacity by building new reservoirs; water management is about conserving and saving water by reducing leakages and losses. Much has been written about building water dams and reservoirs.
Somehow the dam controversy has been linked with the Kalabagh controversy. However, there are many other dams that need to be build and unless a clear water policy is not announced by the government and is given due debate in the assembly, water shortage will remain a volcano waiting to erupt any time. There has to be a ‘national water policy’ and then a consensus to develop a roadmap to proactively deal with a crisis we all know is round the corner.
Water management strategies include changing crop patterns, using drip or sprinkling irrigation, legislating on water usage, stopping water theft and wastage, reviewing water accords and treaties especially those with India to prevent exploitation etc. All these need urgent planning and implementation at the state level. Research shows that water is best conserved if you let water users manage it. That is why the world over the success of letting farmers become managers of water has had resounding results.
Similarly when household users are involved in conserving water, the results are very encouraging. The success of water management in countries that are blessed with much less water than Pakistan is not only due to better government policies but an extremely effective citizen awareness and engagement programme at the household level where each citizen feels responsible for saving every drop of water.
The ignorance of how gallons of water are being wasted by each of us is almost criminal. Thus, till we find a government that can solve all water development and management issues, we need to raise awareness among all citizens on ways to save water. Simple things like just becoming conscious of small household checks can save a huge amount of water. Small leaks in pipes should be stopped immediately as 20 gallons of water per day will be wasted with small leakages. With large leakages it can amount to hundreds and thousands of gallons, depending on the size of the leakage. Toilets should not be used as ashtrays or trash bins. Every time we flush a cigarette, or a tissue etc in the toilet, five to seven gallons of water gets wasted.
Putting the shower on before taking a bath is a huge drainage on water as five to 10 gallons of water is wasted on every unneeded minute. Having leaking tubes lying in the lawn for unlimited times wastes 100 to 500 gallons of water per hour.
Another water guzzler is car washing. Do not use the hosepipe to wash the car endlessly causing a flood around the car and on the floor. Use a soap-filled pail; soap the car with it and then use water to clear the soap and a car cloth to dry it. You can save 150 to 200 gallons of water like this. Do not wash driveways and floors with pipes but with water in pails and brooms and cleaning cloth.
Water wastage is a sin in our religion as well. However, we commit this sin daily. All revolutions start with a change in mindset and if we as citizens start taking responsibility of every drop of water that we use, it will start a water movement that in time will force the media and the government to follow suit.
The writer is an analyst and columnist.
Email: andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com
As water disappears - Andleeb Abbas
This way, you save approx 1 litre per day. Males in Pakistan who shave daily - at a conservative estimate - 20 million. That means Pakistan saves 20 million litres a day!! Or over 7 billion litres a year! 
