Water issues faced by Pakistan

Water issues faced by Pakistan

The alarming water issues that require immediate solutions are, Water shorter, hydro-power shortage, Floods, rapid silting of reservoirs, preventing salinity in the Indus basin, one million small tube wells indiscriminately pumping huge ‘saline drainage effluent as groundwater’ for irrigation use that increase salinity, Water wastage in the 150 years old, incompatible and obsolete canal irrigation system requiring modernization, no drainage system to evacuate salinity, undertaking Integrated Comprehensive Water Management to save water, Water shed Management of Indus River to control Silting of reservoirs and selecting multipurpose dam site.

 General issues are;

1.     The Kalabagh Dam hydraulic design and its dam site created political and technical controversies. The KBD Consultants recommended 100 days low-level silt sluicing hydraulic design whereas WAPDA, under the tailored TOR insisted for 50 days restricted mid-level sluicing design. Status quo prevailed on political controversy for 37 years as no other dam was considered to be built though feasibility of Basha was ready in 1981, about 31 years ago. Basha Dam will take another 10 years. The result for absence of dam is flood havoc of 2010, crippling load shedding, water shortage and economic destruction. More floods are expected in the absence of Katzarah Dam, Guroh Dop Dam and Raised Fateh Barrage. Kalabagh is not the dam site as its capacity-inflow ratio indicates. There is best site for raised barrage only three miles upstream of KBD—with a unique combination of low dam and barrage over it. I prepared unique substitute for KBD in 1994. It is now resubmitted. 

2.     Climate change is a serious threat. It will affect rivers flow. First more river discharge and in the second phase less discharge. The building of dams for both phases is a dire necessary. Plan multipurpose dams to increase greenery. I recommend the 35 maf Katzarah Dam and the 8.5 maf Guroh Dop Dams. If Kazarah is not built, Pakistan will lose two-third of its storage potential, waste floodwater and India would assume we do not need water.   

3.     Has any Master plan for flood control, hydropower generation and silt control projects conceived? If so, name the feasible dams with storage capacity.

4.     Rapid silting of reservoirs is the greatest danger to the useful life of our limited reservoirs. There are no dam sites on Kabul, Jehlum and Chenab Rivers. Tarbela and Mangla gross storage silted up by 6.5 maf that affected IWT replacement storage, the Water Accord and created shortage of water. It affects agriculture production. Had any steps for Water shed management taken to reduce silt in the Indus? This is necessary to increase life of Basha Dam and other on its downstream. The source of silt in the Indus, according to the study conducted by Dr Attaullah, appointed by the World Bank, is the highly erodible soil of Skardu valley. Katzarah will submerge the silt generating area in Skardu valley, stop silt flow by working as Water shed Management Dam. Please seriously consider it. Katzarah  is recommended by the Government of Sindh, and the Parliamentary and Technical Committees appointed by the President. In this respect, I do not agree with the views of WAPDA to ignore Katzarah on the grounds that Baltic culture will be submerged. The unique technical merits of Katzarah cannot be ignored. Moreover, the Government should make decision to build or not to build Katzarah and not WAPDA after considering its unique and multipurpose technical merits. WAPDA is habitual in creating controversies from day one. Will WAPDA prefer that Pakistan should go water scarce, its 18 crores population may suffer hunger, but Baltic culture should not be displaced? Should 35 maf floodwater go waste, by not building Katzarah?  Can two-third water storage potential be sacrificed?  Which technical flaws WAPDA has found in Katzarah? This shows WAPDA must jointly work with IRSA at Islamabad.

5.     IRSA declared its storage water requirement as 22 maf. Which feasible dams would create 22 maf of storage? WAPDA should name the dams without Katzarah.

6.     Please note that Akhori Dam is rejected by Dr Pieter Lieftnick as stated in his report Vol-I on the grounds that it has weak foundation for a dam height of 250 feet, but now WAPDA has raised its height to 420 feet, increasing storage capacity, involving huge water diversion in short period, ignoring Dr Lieftnick’s  recommendations.  Akhori involves earthwork more than two times of Tarbela Dam. Moreover, Dr Pieter Lieftnic says, to divert huge Indus water in two months, the height of Tarbela Dam shall have to be raised by 15 feet. Is that possible?

7.     Water Accord paras 2, 4, 6, 7, 14 (e) of IRSA Act is not implemented for the past 20 years. On the contrary about 6.5 maf of gross storage is lost due to rapid silting. Thus water shortage problem is not yet solved. Let IRSA and WAPDA jointly work at Islamabad to solve issues.

8.     IRSA is responsible to implement Water Accord under para 13, but it is given no powers. IRSA should be given powers. At the same time, WAPDA Head quarter may be shifted to Islamabad for close coordination with IRSA to implement Water Accord and to replenish lost storage to revive IWT and remove water shortage. This is why Chairman WAPDA is made ex-officio Member IRSA. On the expiry of the present non-professional Chairman WAPDA, the next Chairman should be experienced irrigation engineer to actively participate and foresee these water issues and help solving them. I recommend Riaz Ahmad Khan Advisor—the most suitable and experienced water resource engineer who knows these problems.

9.     Prepare a Master plan to control floods, solve water shortage, hydro-power shortage, rapid silting of reservoirs, salinity, and water wastage. It is direly essential to save huge wastage of water in the canal system that is 150 year old, incompatible and obsolete wasting about 45 to 50 maf of water. Moreover, new area is also to be brought under irrigation,  preferably  Kachi plain, to meet food needs of the expanding population. It is IRSA, WAPDA and PARC joint responsibility to avoid delay. I discovered Khajuri Kach dam site in 1959, started work on it but WAPDA delayed its completion till 2012.

10.  It is surprising that the world’s largest contiguous canal irrigation system is without its integral component of drainage system to control and remove saline drainage effluent. The canal irrigation system requires protection against salinity, sodicity and water logging. Drainage is essential part of irrigation, but is missing. Tile drainage will protect land from getting infertile otherwise water will be of no use when Indus basin goes saline waste.

11.  Two mega drainage projects of SCARPs and NDP based on wrong project concept of tube well to evacuate and control salinity failed one after the other. Later on, these were abandoned. It appears nobody could conceive the correct technical definitions of Drainage. Similar is the case of defining Irrigation, Leaching and Water Management. I can provide recognized technical definitions to correctly conceive project concept if asked for. Projects should be prepared as per their technical definitions, adopting correct project concept. Therefore, it is vital that Food and Agriculture department, WAPDA, IRSA must jointly work at Islamabad as water is basic input of agriculture.

12.  Farmers after knowing that groundwater is available installed more than one million private small tube wells, indiscriminately pumping about 50 maf of injurious saline drainage effluent as groundwater for irrigation. This injurious drainage effluent injects about 350 million tons of injurious salts each year into the soil rendering it infertile. The process of salinity is going on gradually and invisibly. The Indus basin is turning into saline waste. Over and above, the one million tube wells could be consuming about 2000 MW of power.

13.  Lacy canal system has become obsolete and highly wasteful besides incompatible to meet intensive crop water requirements in time and in proper dozes. Silting shows canal has failed. It needs modernization by carrying out integrated comprehensive water management (ICWM) as per its true definition. The canal system may need redesigning as per Mannings Formula with silt carrying velocity. Let us consider If 20 maf of water is saved by lining the obsolete canal system, then, will it be possible to use the saved water to bring new area outside the command or the saved water used on the existing crops?  Moreover, the one million miles of water courses be replaced by pipe supply to avoid seepage losses, evaporation losses and theft. Use sprinkler and drip irrigation methods to save more water. Abandoned the wasteful and obsolete Warabandi. This will again save water with in the old command area. How and where to use the saved water? All water losses are to be removed in view of para 14 ( e ) of the Water Accord – a legal binding. Therefore, ICWM is necessary.

Indian water threat is hanging over our heads as India has built 32 water projects.

14.  Salinity and sodicity is a great problem. This needs control by maintaining water table and evacuating excessive salts out of the area. This requires surface and sub-service tile drainage. After leaching the soil, evacuating salinity, reclaiming land, the return drainage effluent from the reclaimed soil would be useable for irrigation on the downstream.

15.  All natural drains in the country are blocked by encroachments in violation of the Canal and Drainage Act of 1857. This needs revival. Sindh is a drainage bowl of the Indus basin. I understand flood water of 2010 and rainwater 2011 is still standing in pockets as natural drains are encroached.  

16.  All Pakistan Grand Canal from Chashma barrage proposed by me in 1961 was ignored. The gravity flow canal would have passed through Sibi Town, irrigating the whole of Kachi plain, besides other provinces. Kachi canal from Mithan Kot failed due to poor planning, and now is taken off from Taunsa barrage still depriving large area of Baluchistan. Is Chashma site not a great loss forever? Can we do something now?

17.  I understand there are huge losses (about 16 maf) due to theft/unauthorized water use in Indus River from Chashma to Kotri. Investigate these losses. Indus River needs channelization after building Basha Dam and Katzarah Dam. It will reclaim about 3 to 3.5 million acres of fertile land from its 14 miles wide waterway. Grow forest on recovered land.

18.  Pakistan is not a member of the UN Watercourses Convention. Why? Get membership. It  will help solving water issues with disputing countries like India and next Afghanistan.

Recommendations

Such series of meetings for the first time, have initiated steps to solve chronic water issues under the

 chair of Riaz Ahmad Khan, technical advisor and other experts from all professional organizations -- a right step to solve chronic issues.  I would also recommend hiring foreign company, like HARZA for detailed preparation of projects. HARZA worked in the Indus basin for 40 years as General Consultants to the Ministry of Water, and WAPDA. Let they work on new projects with IRSA to implement Water Accord and solve other water issues. Alternately, Chinese Consultants be considered. The current discussion will prove more helpful if written views are given by the participants in case where they disagree. Money or no money, project concept for solving water issues must be conceived and be ready. There should be Constitutional provision to solve these issues in 5 year plans each Government. Political parties should include this in their mandate. This implementation falls under Article 38 of the Constitution that may further be amended.    

It is surprising that Army has banned the issue of GTS maps from the Survey of Pakistan. Water Resource Engineers cannot plan without the GTS maps. The ban should be removed from Engineers. They should be allowed to place indents on the Survey of Pakistan as before. I found GTS maps as seven wonder of the world. A gift left by the British.

Engr. Fateh ullah Khan Gandapur                                                 Dated May 26, 2012

Former Chairman IRSA

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