Irrigated land in Pakistan provides about 80 percent of agricultural output, contributes 25 percent of GDP, employs over 50 percent of the rural labour force, and provides 60-70 percent of exports, but frequent disagreements among the federal and four provincial governments is yielding negative impact over the "Water Resources Management".
According to a report of Asian Development Bank, the Ministry of Water and Power through its Department (Wapda) manages and develops water resources. However, lack of sector planning capacity and strong management, as well as frequent disagreements among the federal and four provincial governments over the allocation of water resources and the best way to proceed have contributed to major water resource problems.
These issues are compounded by the inefficient use of water, especially in the irrigation sub-sector, where application of excessive irrigation water has led to increased salinity, water-logging, and development of sodic soils. Some 36 percent of groundwater resources are now classified as highly saline, ADB report pointed out.
According to the report, drainage discharges into watercourses are increasingly saline and, combined with untreated effluent discharges from municipalities and industrial areas, the quality of water resources especially near populated areas is becoming critical.
The ADB report said Pakistan has a long history of developing and managing water resources infrastructure, and has the largest contiguous irrigation system in the world. Irrigated land provides about 80 percent of agricultural output, contributes 25 percent of GDP, employs over 50 percent of the rural labour force, and provides 60-70 percent of exports.
The Indus River canal system not only supplies agricultural water but is also a primary source of rural, municipal, and industrial water supply. About 95 percent of water resources are used for agricultural purposes. However, although there is consensus about the critical need for increasing water investments, actions are hindered by lack of capacity for sector planning.
The Government of Pakistan has produced its Vision 2025 document, which projects an additional 3.75 MAF (million acre-feet) of storage for irrigation through the construction of 5 new dams. The inefficiency of the present flood irrigation system, however, is recognised and is being addressed by the Government, together with the progressive resolution of water resource pollution issues. Water security should be based on entitlements and not on scarcity. However, some sections of society are excluded from their entitlement to water resources, for example the rural poor are increasingly being denied their entitlement to irrigation water. The allocation of water resources is an increasing problem as the water scarcity threshold is approached in Pakistan. The riparian rights of all living within a river basin need to be recognised, including those living in urban areas.
Clearly, ADB report mentioned that water resources are vital to Pakistan's economic well-being, and their improved management is vital to poverty reduction. However, the irrigation system urgently needs rehabilitation and stronger institutional arrangements; the rate of groundwater resource depletion is unsustainable; the coverage, quality, and reliability of urban water supply are grossly inadequate, especially in light of the burgeoning urban population; and urban wastewater treatment is virtually non-existent (only 1 percent treated) with the drainage network collecting agricultural wastes along with mostly untreated municipal and industrial effluent and discharging it into the rivers.
Following the introduction of the national electricity grid in the 1970s, the number of tube-wells has increased significantly, the annual growth rate of electric tube-wells being 6.7 percent and for diesel tube-wells around 7.4 percent. Despite the resulting lowering of the water table and the unsustainable mining of groundwater, additional tube-wells continue to be installed to meet rural, urban, and agricultural requirements.