“The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability” (UN-Water, 2013).
In the urban cities, like Karachi, adequate water for drinking has become a severe problem for its citizens since the last decade.
The situation in urban cities is no different.
In Karachi, long queues waiting to get water bucket filled from a water tanker, can be observed; while, in other cities, the in-house boring to extract water has provided an expensive but alternate solution to the reliance on government provision of clean drinking water.
The normal practice of waste treatment before disposal or recycling is un-employed.
In monsoon season, excess water cannot be stored; while in draught, water is not available for survival.
In KPK, AJK and GB, small reservoirs and micro-hydral projects are the most feasible options.
In Punjab, small scale run-of-the-river hydroelectric plants on canals are helpful not only for power generation but also for efficient irrigation (such a plant was first built by Sir Ganga Ram in Renala Khurd in 1925 on canal Lowar-bari-doab).
WASA should introduce benefits for using water up to certain limit to encourage people to save water and high tariffs for extra water usage.
Waste water treatment plants need to be built in urban cities to eliminate water pollution.