Pakistan’s antiquated irrigation system is costing the country in more ways than one, and overhaul is needed if we are to sustain our agro-based economy. The flood system is used for irrigation in Pakistan, and no major changes have been made to this for over two hundred years. Water scarcity in Pakistan has reached an all new low, and there seems to be no real plan on how to increase the per capita availability over a thousand; the current level of water for individuals in Pakistan. The rating cards used by the authorities for water measurement are over 25 years old, with gauges that give inadequate readings, which means that the problem often seems less serious than it actually is, and makes water sharing a major problem, with farmers on the end of the line receiving little or no water. Responsible irrigation must look to both agriculture and conservation in tandem; with the provision of water to farmers being sufficient enough to keep agricultural produce at its maximum. Automated gauges have been considered as a substitute to the old methods of water measurement, and the new technology, which uses ultrasonic sensors for measurement, and relays the information through the Internet, has already been set up in seventeen distributaries in southern Punjab. These ‘smart canals’ are used in developed countries around the world, but have not been set up in Pakistan due to the high amount of capital investment needed. Since both export and domestic stability depends primarily on agriculture, there is no debate needed on whether smart canals should replace the old ways of measurement. It is also imperative that a switch is made in the method of irrigation, and a more efficient type such as drip irrigation, or the sprinkler system is used so that water wasted is kept at a minimum and the distribution is more equitable than it is at present.