Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) is implementing a programme 'Improved Water Conservation Practices for NWFP and Northern Areas of Pakistan' to identify the problems related to water resources management in the project area and develop water conservation plan to increase per unit productivity of water with the total cost of Rs 39.90 million.
According to official sources, Water Resource Research Center, Peshawar of PCRWR was established with the objective to undertake research and dissemination activities on efficient water conservation activities for mountainous areas besides undertaking research on glacier and snowmelt hydrology.
THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE:
-- To identify water and soil management issues to develop water conservation plan in the NWFP and Northern Areas under changing global environment.
-- To implement the proposed water conservation plan by establishing demonstration units at appropriate locations in the project area.
-- To monitor water quality of surface and groundwater sources in project areas and suggest remedial measures for improving the quality of water for various uses.
The project aims to combat effects of drought and to be prepared for emerging problems of human migration and ensure water availability where possible in mountainous areas.
Participation of local population would be ensured throughout the implementation of the project for effective technology transfer. The project activities would be disseminated through field days and users training. This is important for the agricultural as well as socio-economic uplift of mountainous regions.
Another project "Enhancement and Management of Groundwater Resources" was being implemented in Balochistan with the total cost of Rs 38.68 million.
According to official sources, the main objective of this pilot project is to assess, manage and enhance groundwater resources of Zhob River Basin in Balochistan on sustainable bases.
THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE: Assessment of existing status of groundwater resources, development and implementation of plan for sustainable management of groundwater resources through artificial groundwater recharge techniques and rainwater harvesting.
The Balochistan government previously constructed over 165 delay action dams with more than 200 million rupees for recharging groundwater. However, the efficiency of these dams has been very low due to various technical and management implications. The groundwater recharge techniques previously introduced by PCRWR are low cost and very effective in recharging groundwater.
These groundwater recharge activities under the project will improve groundwater resources of the province. Similarly, if these techniques are applied in other river basins then the groundwater resources of Balochistan would be increased many folds. All these activities would contribute in economic uplift of the province.
According to a study report, Balochistan falls under arid climatic condition where rainfall is low and erratic. Most of the rivers and streams are non-perennial. The only dependable source of water supply is groundwater.
Due to continuous increase in population and consequential growth in water demand for various uses have resulted tremendous increase in installation of tube-wells, and groundwater utilisation has increased manifolds in the province.
The project would assess, manage and enhance groundwater resources of Zhob River Basin (Qila Saifullah District) on sustainable bases, which is one of the most groundwater depleted area.
Under the project innovative low cost groundwater recharge techniques will be introduced besides improving efficiency of already existing recharge activities.
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