ISLAMABAD, Aug 19 (APP):The government has expanded rainwater harvesting initiatives in water-stressed areas of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with projects in Thar and Kohat-Hangu providing water access to around 67,000 people and 98,000 livestock. According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the initiatives aim to improve water availability for communities and livestock in drought-prone and water-scarce areas through rainwater storage, groundwater recharge and solar-powered water supply systems. In Thar Desert, …
Sindh, KP rainwater projects benefit 67,000 people, 98,000 livestock
ISLAMABAD, Aug 19 (APP):The government has expanded rainwater harvesting initiatives in water-stressed areas of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with projects in Thar and Kohat-Hangu providing water access to around 67,000 people and 98,000 livestock.
According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the initiatives aim to improve water availability for communities and livestock in drought-prone and water-scarce areas through rainwater storage, groundwater recharge and solar-powered water supply systems.
In Thar Desert, Sindh, a network of 10 rainwater harvesting ponds has been established with a combined storage capacity of 35.21 million gallons. The project is serving approximately 46,000 people and 70,000 livestock. The stored rainwater is being used for domestic and livestock needs, providing communities with an alternative source of water in the arid region.
The initiative also includes a solar-powered tube well system, which is supplying water to around 3,000 livestock through 48 tanks daily.
In Kohat and Hangu, rainwater harvesting ponds have been developed at seven sites with support from UNICEF. The projects have a combined storage capacity of 16 million gallons and are benefiting 21,000 people and 28,000 livestock.
The KP initiative goes beyond rainwater storage, with gabion structures and rainwater harvesting ponds being used to enhance groundwater recharge.
The document also highlights support for the Public Health Engineering Department’s tube wells and local community dug wells, helping strengthen existing water sources and improve their sustainability.
The combined interventions reflect an increasing focus on decentralised and community-based water management, particularly in areas where conventional water-supply infrastructure is difficult to establish.
The use of rainwater harvesting ponds, groundwater recharge structures and solar-powered pumping systems could provide a relatively low-cost model for improving water security in other water-stressed communities across Pakistan.
