All overhead water reservoirs to be made functional: Aziz

All overhead water reservoirs will be made functional which were abandoned in past due to the reasons best known to the policy makers and new overhead tanks would be constructed to supply water to new localities. This was said by Pakistan Water Operators Network (P-WON) Chairman Syed Zahid Aziz during P-WON's steering committee meeting in the city on Tuesday.
He said suitable steps must be taken to disconnect illegal water connections, establish waste water treatment plants and conserve clean drinking water across the country. The consultation was hosted by Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) Multan and attended by representatives of various organisations.
"Illegal water connections must be disconnected to improve service delivery across the country," the statement quoted Aziz saying. "They pose a major threat to water supplies across the country."
Aziz said the provision of quality services to consumers would also enhance the revenue of the water utilities. "This is a need of the hour. A series of recommendations were put forward to improve the quality of drinking water and overcome its shortage. The criteria for a P-WON membership for other utilities and SoPs for the company were also discussed.
The steering committee was informed that Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Faisalabad has prepared water regulations. "These will be shared with other utilities in the country and will help the provision of clean drinking water to consumers," added the statement.
The committee also voiced concerns over changes in global weather conditions and agreed to take steps to gauge their impact on water reservoirs. It also agreed to invest in training officials of water utilities.
Managing Director Wasa Multan Rao Muhammad Qasim has said that water meter system will be launched across the city for improving the billing and recovery system. After holding a meeting with Chairman Pakistan Water Operators Network Syed Zahid Aziz here Saturday, he said over Rs 900 million had been pending with the defaulters. He said all old sewer lines were being replaced in phases in the city to provide clean water to people and appealed to people to cooperate with Wasa authorities to achieve the desired objective.
The meeting was chaired by Zahid Aziz Chairman of P-WON, Maqsooda Fatima National Coordinator, Muazzam Jamil (Housing Department), Roohan Javed, Abdul Ghaffar,(Faisalabad) Nasir Ghafoor, Muhammad Idrees, (Mardan) Khan Zeb Khan, Ali Rehman (Peshawar)Khurram , Fida Hussain, Rana Maqsood Ahmed (Gujranwala), Ayyub Sheikh (Karachi), Mohsin Nazar (Hyderabad), Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Ramzan (Quetta), Zainab Abbas, Abdul Rehman (Lahore), Shaukat Mehmood, Aziz-ullah (Rawalpindi), and Arif Rauf (Kohat).