Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is likely to increase the water quota by 1,200 cusec for the K-IV 150-mgd water project of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), officials said on Friday. They said the KWSB had demanded of the Irsa for 1,200-cusec additional water from the Indus river for its K-IV project.
Adding that earlier it had refused to oblige the KWSB due to unavailability of water in the river. "The Irsa officials argued that the water quota to Karachi has abolished with the establishment of K-III water project of 100 mgd," they added.
However, now the Irsa started deliberations over this issue and, hopefully, it would accept the KWSB demand for 1,200-cusec water for K-IV water project, said the KWSB officials.
They said if the Irsa did not accept the KWSB demand, then water scarcity would result in serious crisis in the metropolis as presently its population stood at over 15 million and was still growing both horizontally and vertically at a rapid pace of nearly six percent per year. Besides, the water shortage could also hamper the industrial production across the city, they added. As such, the KWSB was making efforts to resolve this issue before becoming as a potential threat not only to people, but also for the industries, they said.
"Every year, a large amount of skilled and unskilled working class is added to Karachi from every part of the country, which gives rise to population growth, besides affecting economic, already facing negative impact of water shortage," they maintained.
Officials said that the water requirement of Karachi had crossed the figure of 1,258 cusec and water demand was still on the rise, adding that according to statistics, the water demand would shoot up to 1,458 cusec in the next three years.
They maintained that Hub Dam was the other major source of water, which depended on rainfall and its catchment area of 36,000 sq. kilometres, hence the Indus River was the most economical and viable source of water for Karachi.
The K-IV project, on completion, would help reduce water crisis in the city, they said, adding that in the first stage of K-IV project, the KWSB was upgrading the water supply system at Kinjhar lake to ensure availability of potable water and also for irrigation purposes.
"The establishment of K-IV water project will fulfil the water demand, which is believed to go up to about 100 to 150 mgd in the coming years," they added. The officials said that KWSB had demanded of the government to provide it with a land for setting up pumping stations and intermediate reservoirs.
They said that the entire bulk water supply system from Kinjhar lake to Karachi was constructed under Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply (GKBWS) scheme and efforts are being made to increase the bulk water supply to Karachi.