Pakistan facing water quality crisis

Pakistan is facing a water quality crisis as resources are stretched thin and pollution increases, with recent reports finding that 20 to 40 per cent of hospital beds in Pakistan are taken up by patients suffering from water-related diseases.

The Express Tribune has recently reported on the state of water in Pakistan, highlighting several features of the water environment which are of serious concern. The increasing population was once such worry, with water resources expected to fall below 1,000m3/year in the near future.

Pakistan's Council of Research in Water Resources launched a National Water Quality Monitoring Program in 2001, submitting a final report in 2007 that found that every major city had unsafe drinking water.

Irrigation water is a big supply of water for domestic use, particularly in rural areas. It is estimated that as many as 40 million Pakistanis depend on irrigation water, and 60 per cent get their drinking water from hand or motor pumps.

Hospital beds are now full with patients suffering from typhoid, cholera, dysentery and hepatitis, which are all related to poor water quality. The United Nations Children’s Fund study estimated that 20 to 40 per cent of hospital beds were taken by people suffering from such diseases.

Pakistan has recently had political tensions with India over the planned building of dams in their neighbouring country. This could be an issue for water monitoring in the future.

Posted by Lauren Steadman