By Muhammad Luqman

The Punjab government has planned a Rs31 billion project to shift Lahore’s water supply from groundwater to surface water by drawing and treating 54 million gallons per day (MGD) from the BRB Canal, as the city’s groundwater levels continue to decline due to excessive tube well extraction.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Lahore operates 594 deep tube wells across the city, supplying 329 million gallons of water daily.

According to WASA officials, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved the project’s PC-I, which will now be submitted to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.

“After getting the final nod, execution of the project will start,” WASA Lahore Vice-Chairman Chaudhary Shahbaz Ahmad told Wealth Pakistan.

He said the Surface Water Treatment Plant (SWTP) would initially have a capacity of 100 cusecs (54 MGD) and would be established near Bhaini Road. Its capacity would subsequently be expanded to 1,000 cusecs (540 MGD).

Mr Ahmad, who is also a member of the Punjab Assembly, said the project would be implemented with financial assistance from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The SWTP is part of AIIB’s $235 million financing package under the Lahore Water and Wastewater Management Project, which seeks to improve water quality, reduce pollution from untreated sewage and gradually shift the city’s dependence from groundwater to surface water.

The project also includes laying a trunk sewer from Larech Colony to Gulshan-e-Ravi using trenchless technology to reduce the burden on stormwater drains in central Lahore.

Water experts have warned that Lahore’s heavy dependence on groundwater is putting increasing pressure on the city’s aquifer.

Pakistan’s major cities use a combination of surface water from rivers, canals and reservoirs and groundwater extracted through tube wells, but groundwater depletion has become a growing concern in several urban centres.

“Cities like Karachi and Islamabad depend heavily on surface water schemes, while places like Lahore have relied on groundwater,” said Dr Ghulam Zakir Hassan Sial, Director of the Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Punjab.

Talking to Wealth Pakistan, he said unabated groundwater extraction had caused a sharp decline in aquifer levels.

He warned that groundwater levels in Punjab, particularly Lahore, were falling by three to five feet annually, calling the situation “highly alarming”.

He said greater reliance on treated surface water could significantly reduce pressure on groundwater.

“WASA Lahore currently obtains 99 per cent of its water from the aquifer to meet the needs of Lahorites,” Dr Sial said.

The use of canal water as drinking water after diverting and treating it would help save groundwater, he added.

He also urged WASA to promote rainwater harvesting and use stored rainwater for PHA-run gardens, parks and roadside plantations.

“Our groundwater budget is negative. We are drawing more water while recharging less,” Dr Sial said, stressing the need for immediate aquifer recharge even after shifting part of the city’s demand to surface water.

He said the surface water project might appear expensive initially but could prove cost-effective in the long run by helping conserve Lahore’s rapidly depleting groundwater reserves.

“The greater the use of treated canal water, the greater the chances of checking the decline in groundwater levels,” he said.

Credit: INP-WealthPk