The ground-water level is declining in Lahore with a depletion rate of approximately about 2.5 to 3.0 feet per year.
If the present trend continues, the situation will become even worse by 2040 demanding an urgent need to conserve ground-water and adopt strategies at the earliest, said speakers at the fifth session of citywide partnership under the project ‘International Labour and Environmental Standards (ILES)’ arranged by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF) here on Thursday.
A case study on River Ravi was also shared in the session which highlighted issues around the basin such as ground and surface water quality deterioration, over-abstraction of groundwater, inequitable development leading to increased water stress and increase in waterborne diseases.
The stakeholders discussed and recommended solutions such as improvements in water allocations between surface and groundwater, increased levels of treatment for industrial and municipal effluent and improvement in environmental flows.
River Ravi is one of the eastern rivers apart from River Sutlej and River Beas in the Indus Basin.
Speaking on the occasion, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan, said: "Pakistan is water stressed country and is nearing the threshold of water scarcity.
Access to safe drinking water in rural and urban areas is declining and provision of potable water is a key issue that people are facing."
Khan was also of the view that safe drinking water should be made available to the population and industries need to ensure proper disposal of solid and liquid waste.
Engr Zamir A Somroo, Regional Director PCRWR, informed the audience that the PCRWR has experimented with rainwater harvesting models on a pilot scale and such artificial ground-water recharge can be a good option in restoring Lahore’s groundwater.
Ghulam Zakir Hassan Sial, Director Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Irrigation Department, Government of Punjab, said that depletion of ground-water has become severe over the years and that the Groundwater Act may help in the restoration of Lahore’s ground-water.