Rs.31bn surface water project planned for Lahore

ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP):The Punjab government has planned a Rs 31 billion project to shift Lahore’s water supply from groundwater to surface water by drawing and treating 54 million gallons per day (MGD) from the BRB Canal.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Lahore operates 594 deep tube wells across the city, supplying 329 million gallons of water daily.

According to WASA officials, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved the project’s PC-I, which will now be submitted to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.

“After getting the final nod, execution of the project will start,” WASA Lahore Vice-Chairman Chaudhary Shahbaz Ahmad told Wealth Pakistan.

He said the Surface Water Treatment Plant (SWTP) would initially have a capacity of 100 cusecs (54 MGD) and would be established near Bhaini Road. Its capacity would subsequently be expanded to 1,000 cusecs (540 MGD).

Shahbaz Ahmad, who is also a member of the Punjab Assembly, said the project would be implemented with financial assistance from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The SWTP is part of AIIB’s $235 million financing package under the Lahore Water and Wastewater Management Project, which seeks to improve water quality, reduce pollution from untreated sewage and gradually shift the city’s dependence from groundwater to surface water.

The project also includes laying a trunk sewer from Larech Colony to Gulshan-e-Ravi using trenchless technology to reduce the burden on stormwater drains in central Lahore.

Pakistan’s major cities meet their water needs through a combination of surface water from rivers, canals and reservoirs and groundwater extracted through tube wells. As pressure on groundwater resources grows in several urban centres, experts say greater use of treated surface water and improved aquifer recharge offer a sustainable way to secure future supplies.

“Cities like Karachi and Islamabad depend heavily on surface water schemes, while places like Lahore have relied on groundwater,” Dr Ghulam Zakir Hassan Sial, Director of the Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Punjab, told Wealth Pakistan.

He said continued groundwater extraction had caused a significant decline in aquifer levels, particularly in Lahore. Groundwater levels in parts of Punjab, including Lahore, were falling by three to five feet annually, making measures to conserve and recharge the aquifer increasingly important.

Dr Sial said shifting part of Lahore’s water demand from groundwater to treated surface water could substantially ease pressure on the aquifer. “WASA Lahore currently obtains 99 per cent of its water from the aquifer to meet the needs of Lahorites,” he said.

Diverting canal water for treatment and subsequent use as drinking water would help conserve groundwater and diversify the city’s water supply, he added.

Dr Sial also highlighted rainwater harvesting as another practical opportunity to improve urban water management. He suggested that WASA promote rainwater collection and use stored rainwater for PHA-managed gardens, parks and roadside plantations, reducing the need to use groundwater for such purposes.

“Our groundwater budget is negative. We are drawing more water while recharging less,” he said, stressing that aquifer recharge measures would remain necessary even after part of the city’s demand was shifted to surface water.

He said a surface water project might require significant initial investment, but its long-term benefits could outweigh the costs by conserving groundwater reserves and improving the sustainability of Lahore’s water supply.

“The greater the use of treated canal water, the greater the chances of checking the decline in groundwater levels,” Dr Sial said.