The first article in our continuing series on water scarcity was published on November 26. Entitled "A water-stressed nation", that column narrated the harsh ground realities that the country's per capita water availability is sharply falling and that Pakistan is already a water-stressed country and may soon deteriorate to water-scarce conditions. We highlighted that rising population has already reduced per capita water availability and now the probable rise in the world's average surface temperature to critical levels (to reach from 0.9C to 2C above pre-industrial era temperature in 30 years); will fast melt the glaciers to sharply reduce the river water flows.
There is a dire need to have polices at the macro level to enhance water storage capacity of the country which is too low at 10 percent of annual water flow (world average: 40%). At the micro level, it is imperative to have the right policy mix for proper water management through macro-frameworks to align incentive structures and through well-defined water property rights.
The ground water table is depleting fast in Pakistan - on average 15 to 66 centimeters are depleting in Punjab as well as a few districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a study by the International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute. IWARSI warns that the situation in Baluchistan is even worse.
The excessive use of tube wells, age-old flood irrigation systems and the selection of water-intensive crops are some prominent examples of the huge waste of the soon-to-be-scarce commodity (water) owing to its dirt cheap price and the absence of proper definition of water rights. The low price of water leads to selection of not only inefficient irrigation methods but also excess cultivation of crops with high water requirements such as rice.
According to an analysis, in 1926 the cost of irrigation was 45 percent of the total cost for a typical rice grower while today it is less than one percent. This explains that farmers have no incentive to use water efficiently. The need is to revisit the water pricing from the lens of optimal use of the stressed commodity before it is too late. Once the pricing is right, farmers will be compelled to use efficient irrigation systems such as sprinklers, pivot irrigation, and eventually drip irrigation instead of the age-old flood irrigation system. The private sector will itself come up with solutions once demand is created through proper pricing mechanism.
Hence, through the right policy mix, the need for water availability of average 60 MAF per year at farm-gate will reduce significantly and that water can be stored for bad years and can be deployed for high value-adding industrial use.
There is also no definition of ground water rights which leads to the exercise of power and resources at the cost of others. The person or organization that can bore deep is able to utilize water leaving less for the neighbouring community without any compensation - for instance Nestle bores water from Sheikhupura, processes it, bottles it and sells it to the elite of the country at high margins without paying any royalty to the inhabitants of that area. Similar actions are carried out by an array of other mineral water suppliers. There should be a clear definition of underground water rights and there should be a compensation mechanism for those who are losing out due to falling water table in their areas. When the state can have well-defined rights for minerals (such as oil and gas) why can it not have similar clarity for water?
In domestic and commercial use there are colossal wastages of water as consumers are not bothered to conserve water given its negligible price. The country has wasted huge reserves of Sui Gas by virtue of low pricing - there is a joke that in the 1970s, housewives used to save matchsticks by not turning off stoves at night as gas was cheaper. The same has happened in water usage for decades. There should be slabs for water consumption which allow certain necessary use at cheap rates but there should be penal charged if water usage increases over critical levels. Waste water management is increasingly difficult and costly and there is no charge on it anywhere in Pakistan.
Both water supply and wastages should be priced smartly. For instance, in Scotland, the fixed charges for both water supply and disposal of waste water increases four times once the minimum usage limit is crossed and the rate increases exponentially for subsequent, higher slabs.
Housing societies should be encouraged to have their own storage and recycling plants - reverse osmosis (RO) plants are common today in the developed world. To fund the installation and functioning of these RO plants, the sewerage disposal should be taxed for each and every household. The recycled water can be used for watering of green areas. Why is the water supplied to golf courses charged at the same rates as that supplied to poor neighbourhoods? Luxuries should be charged a premium.
After the 18th amendment, agriculture and water have been deemed as provincial subjects. The need is to go a step further and have district-wise storage plans, self-financed disposal and recycling plans and let them work on their own to let the water table rise slowly.
In Karachi and along the costal highways there should be focus on desalination plants to free the mega city from the shackles of the tankers mafia. The need is to have a number of small dams and storage facilities across the country to encourage the development of small cities and reduce reliance on big urban centers. There should be tax holidays and other incentives for desalination plants all across the coastal areas and RO plants for large and small urban centers. This will also help in the redistribution of population and increase economic well-being of average households.
The idea is that without much fiscal spending, roughly 15- 20 percent water can be saved through proper management - by right pricing and the proper definition of water usage rights. All the fiscal strapped country needs to learn from others and save the country from chronic water shortages.
Yes, the need for macro projects for water storage and electricity generation cannot be ruled out of the equation. The provincial rifts and mistrust on water has to be dealt carefully in days of divergent political capital of the big parties in their respective provinces. The need is to intelligently use western multilateral agencies funding, CPEC resources and WAPDAs own $30 billion asset base. The macro solutions will be explored in subsequent columns.
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