Mega water projects vital: WB

ISLAMABAD—The World Bank (WB) and several other international financial institutions have backed the construction of mega water reservoirs in Pakistan because the country is likely to face water problems in this century.
The WB prepared a concept paper titled 'Water Management in 21st Century Pakistan' after it was approached by the Planning Commission for a water security plan for the current century.
In the concept paper, the bank takes the view that water resources have been overexploited in the last few decades because of which underground water tables have fallen.
The bank said that water resources in Pakistan were being depleted as the silt level in reservoirs was increasing in the absence of a dredging mechanism. An official said the WB had serious reservations about the country's canal system, which had been losing capacity to store water.
The WB stated mismanagement and lack of modern equipment as reasons for the depleting water resources in the country. The bank said tube-wells, especially in Baluchistan, and deforestation in the Northern Areas and catchment areas had wreaked havoc on precious water resources.
Tube-wells in Baluchistan, once strongly supported by the government, were installed without following standard procedures, leading to overexploitation of underground water in the province.
Deforestation in the catchment areas was not properly followed by the responsible government agencies, and it therefore substantially reduced the life span of existing reservoirs, according to the bank.
The WB concept paper stated that the country needed to immediately invest in costly and large dams because it was already one of the countries with the highest water shortages in the world.
According to a previous WB report, Pakistan required $10bn a year to upgrade and maintain existing water structures. The report said Punjab needed $5bn to maintain the quality of its water infrastructure.
The concept paper said that the quality of groundwater was deteriorating with floods. An environmental change is taking place in Pakistan, and the country's weather has been extremely hot during the last few years.—Agencies