Control massive water wastage by water management to counteract water scarcity caused by global warming

There is massive surface water wastage upto 60% in our highly wasteful supplied-based, incompatible canal irrigation system and due to floodwater wastage. Therefore, there is dire need to avoid huge wastage from each source. The total estimated figure of surface water wastage is about 82 maf out of 142 maf. These waste flows are, from the wasteful supplied-based canal irrigation system, the floodwater waste flow to sea, and the loss of water in the wide waterway of the Indus River bed. The massive water wastage urgently needs control by the combined processes of integrated comprehensive water management (ICWM). The net water available to crops at the farm after the wastage of 82 maf is about (142-82) = 60 maf. The colossal water loss of about 82 maf is unprecedented economic loss. The Government of Pakistan should take very serious notice of this huge loss of water and deal it as number one priority for the survival of irrigated agriculture to feed the 32 crores of population by the year about 2025. The massive water wastage shows that it is the water mismanagement and not the water scarcity to cause water shortage. It therefore needs proper control to avoid all wastage.

Besides the colossal wastage of about 82 maf of surface water there would yet be another incoming enormous loss of surface water between 35% to 40% of the 142 maf as a consequence of the global warming and glacier melting. Assuming only 35% shortage, it comes to (142x35%) = 50 maf. This huge shortage of water would be in the second permanent phase of the global warming after about 40 years. There is therefore compelling and life saving need to counteract the loss of 50 maf of the incoming surface water reduced flow due to global warming, by reducing and controlling the existing 82 maf of water wastage from the obsolete supply-based canal irrigation system, and by controlling floodwater wastage to sea. Besides the above water wastage, the water losses in the 14 miles wide and meandering Indus River between Chashma to Kotri is about 14 maf. The riverbank return flow or gain in winter in the Indus is about 6 to 7 maf. The net loss of water in the Indus River comes to about (14-7) = 7 maf. This loss of water shall have to be controlled by channeling the Indus River. Alternately, to avoid most of the water loss in the Indus River waterway, the water shares of Sindh and Baluchistan can be diverted from Chashma barrage on the Indus via Sibi in Kachi plain to enter Sindh province. This diversion is possible by lined canal with gravity flow through the proposed All Pakistan Grand Canal supported by Katzarah Dam.

The only way to counteract water shortage due to global warming for the survival of irrigated agriculture in the Indus Basin is to carry out integrated comprehensive water management (ICWM). The basic and the vital components of (ICWM) are storage dams, drainage system for irrigated land, demand-based canal irrigation system and the use of modern water conveyance, distribution and water application methods and land improvement for optimum crop growth. The functions of these water management components are to avoid almost all wastage of water. The water management with its integral components and their comprehensive functions is defined below: -

"Integrated Comprehensive Water Management is defined as the integral process of watershed management, storage, diversion, conveyance, regulation, measurement, distribution and application of the rational amount of water at proper time and removal of excess water from the farm to promote increased production economically in conjunction with improvement of agriculture practices and institutional arrangement".

In view of the above definition, the basic water saving components of water management are:

Storage Dams

The construction of long life storage dam is vital part of water management to conserve, regulate river flow, control and store super-floods and generate cheap hydropower for the use of sprinkler and drip irrigation methods and for lifting irrigation water to higher lands. Storage dams control silt and act as watershed management infrastructure. Silt free water is a great advantage for the use of drip and sprinkler irrigation methods that can irrigate about three times more area than with flood irrigation. The support from storage dam is a must for the demand-based canal irrigation system as it releases regulated water supplies as and when required in proper doses. It can provide water to crops on the crop consumptive use basis in time in proper doses for maximum crop yield. The present method of Warabandi system of the supply of water to crops with fixed time duration on area basis is obsolete and wasteful.

Demand-based irrigation system

Demand based canal irrigation system is the basic and vital component of water management to avoid most of the water wastage from the wasteful supply-based canal irrigation system. Therefore, the obsolete, highly wasteful, 150 years old supply-based canal irrigation system needs immediate replacement by demand-based system. The demand-based canal irrigation system would result in saving of about 50 maf in surface water that is 8 times the storage of Basha dam. The demand-based system has most efficient water conveyance system to supply water to crops in time for maximum yield.

Modern methods for the application of irrigation water to crop

The adoption of modern irrigation practices is must for agricultural development using sprinklers and drip irrigation methods after improving land, carryout land reform and land consolidation. Plot of land for irrigation should be given geometrical shape. All these processes are vital part of ICWM. Sprinklers and drip irrigation methods of using water if practiced can irrigate about three times the area than by flooding method. It will remove scarcity of water to be caused by global warming and meet food needs of growing population.

Replacing water courses by pipe supply

Traditional and wasteful watercourses should be replaced by pipe supply as far as possible. This saves seepage and evaporation losses besides theft of water and is an important water saving component of water management.

Drainage of irrigated land

The surface and sub-surface drainage system for irrigated agriculture is an integral and very vital component of irrigation and of water management. This is missing in the Indus basin irrigation system since 150 years to evacuate the injurious saline effluent out of the area and control salinity and water logging. As a result, drainage effluent has accumulated as groundwater. Moreover, natural surface  drainage is also blocked due to encroachments. No surface and sub­surface tile drainage is provided to evacuate injurious salinity, sodicity and control water logging. There is no infrastructure to maintain salt and water balance. Drainage of land is the missing part of irrigation and is direly vital to keep water table under control and keep irrigated land healthy. As a consequence of no drainage system, about 60% of irrigated lands in the Indus basin suffer due to salinity, sodicity and water logging to various degrees. Crop yield on this account is low ' and is seriously affected. The right type of drainage system is extremely vital to evacuate injurious saline effluent out of the area, control water table, reclaim land and keep salt and water balance for optimum crop yield otherwise precious fresh surface water is wasted on diseased land. SCARPs and NDP were wrongly conceived mega drainage projects thereby both projects have not only failed but added more salinity and sodicity in soil. As a consequence of drainage accumulation and its misuse, Punjab is pumping about 45 maf of injurious saline groundwater drainage effluent for irrigation use that destroys its land invisibly and gradually without the farmers knowing it. It is estimated that if this practice of using saline groundwater drainage effluent continue, most of the Indus basin would turn as saline waste by the year about 2040. Therefore, drainage must be provided as it is the vital part of ICWM and integral component of irrigation.

Warabandi System

Warabandi system of 1887 for the supply of irrigation water to land has become obsolete as under the supply-based canal irrigation system it supplies water to crops on land area basis and fixed time limit. This is not according to crop consumptive use and the type of crop. Warabandi is to be replaced by crop consumptive use of water as and when required in proper doses. This is possible under the demand-based canal irrigation system supported by long life storage dam (Katzarah with 1000 years life span). It will produce maximum crop yield per acre. The farm-to-market-roads and all other agricultural inputs are among the vital components of ICWM.

The water saving role of ICWM to counteract reduced flow due to global warming

The major sources of water wastage are the 150 years old, obsolete, incompatible, supply- based canal irrigation system where about 100 to 105 maf of surface water is diverted in canal system out of 142 maf of the available surface water. About 50 maf of water is wasted in the supply-based canal irrigation system due to seepage. The next major source of water wastage is 25 maf to 35 maf of floodwater waste that goes to sea during monsoon. Besides this, about 7 maf of water is lost in the bed of the Indus River that needs channelizing to save water. The total water wastage on these three counts comes to about (50+25+7) = 82 maf out of 142 maf of water. What a great water wastage due to utter mismanagement of precious water? Still no one is concerned.

In the first phase of global warming in about 40 years from now, there would be increased river flows due to glacier melting often resulting in super floods. In the second and final phase of global warming, there would be 35% to 40% reduced surface water in rivers flows on permanent basis. On this account the loss of surface water due to global warming comes to about (assuming only 35% loss), that comes to (142x35%) = 50 maf of water. Besides this, hydropower generation from storage dams would also be reduced by the same amount. Therefore, maximum number of dams should be built.

There is already about 82 maf of surface water wastage out of 142 maf. The global warming would cause another about 50 maf of water loss as reduced rivers flow. There is therefore an extremely compelling need to save and minimize the current water wastage of about 82 maf by ICWM as explained above. This is the only way to negate the adverse effects of water shortage caused by global warming. If ICWM is not implemented, the irrigation system in the Indus Basin would almost have no water as (82+50) = 132 maf of water would be lost out of 142 maf.

It is estimated that the ICWM if implemented would reduce the current water wastage from 82 maf to about 32 maf. Now the situation is that on the one hand, there is loss of 50 maf of surface water due to reduce flow on account of global warming, but on the other hand there is golden opportunity to save about 50 maf of seepage water from Canal System through ICWM. The remaining 32 maf of surface water wastage due to floods and wastage in river Indus would be saved when Katzarah Dam is built and Indus is channelized.

Therefore, ICWM with all its vital components must be planned right now for immediate implementation, as it would require at least 30 years for completion. If ICWM is delayed or avoided the Indus basin irrigated agriculture would completely be ruined. It would not be possible to feed the 32 crores of population by the year 2025. Famine conditions would prevail with food riots and economy destroyed.

Destructive effects of global warming

Some of the destructive effects of global warming on environment are narrated to know the great incoming calamities falling on earth affecting its entire population with sever effects on developing countries including Pakistan.

In fact, human activities, growing population and increased emission of carbon dioxide is mainly responsible for global warming. The world is going to witness climbing temperatures, rising seas, heat wave, heavy precipitation, water scarcity, catastrophic floods, avalanches, tropical storms, earthquakes, tsunami, droughts and food riots besides population movement, pollution and natural disasters. Global warming could result in hurricanes and tornadoes. The increasing use of fuel fossil is causing warmer weather and more chaotic. Rapid deforestation in Pakistan and Afghanistan is contributing to global warming. The use of dirty weapons in war is affecting environment. The global warming is affecting flora and fauna besides species loss. It has created eco-environmental problems. Crops, fruit, vegetables and flowers are losing flavour, sweetness and fragrance. The biological clock of plants and animals is running ahead of time. It is affecting human physiology, and would cause infectious diseases. The planet earth and its environment would be under going great change due to multiple calamities as pointed out above. The UN must take serious notice of the horrible global calamities that endangers all life form including human existence on earth.

Environment friendly activities

The Government of Pakistan may immediately enforce environment friendly activities in all fields. The storage of water by dams and reservoirs on all rivers for irrigation and the generation of hydropower are all environment friendly measures. Dams and Reservoirs remove water scarcity, control super floods, control silt to act as watershed management infrastructure, increase life of downstream reservoirs, provide drinking water and avoid drought and famine besides producing environment friendly hydropower. More over, storage water is used for irrigation to produce food, raise trees and forests to reduce carbon-dioxide emission and help prevent global warming. In the first phase of global warming, the increased river flow would increase sediment flow that would rapidly silt up reservoir. Therefore, long life reservoirs must be planned. The dire need is to reduce carbon-dioxide emission and control pollution.

Pakistan should learn a lesson from India for building dozens of dams on each river and on each of their tributaries utilizing 100% potential of water and hydropower resources of occupied Kashmir. Pakistan is 100% failure in this respect. Water and power scarcity, food insecurity, famine conditions, lawlessness, poor governance, unconcerned attitude, corruption will continue. These are the requisites for terrorism.

President's role

The implementation of ICWM would save about 45 to 50 maf of seepage water. This saving of water is of dire necessity. Global warming would reduce river flows, and water availability by about 50 maf.  The water saving from ICWM would counteract the loss of water due to Climate change. The President of Pakistan is advised to order the implementation of ICWM and to build Katzarah Dam on war footing to avoid water losses. The bureaucracy wait for the President's order as they are powerless to initiate action. The inert attitude to fight calamity needs revolutionary change. I foresee the future is doomed.