ISLAMABAD - The experts have said that water challenges in Islamabad have increased due to wastage of rainwater and horizontal expansion of the capital city, over-abstraction of groundwater resources, poor water supply, sanitation issues, and unsustainable use as the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pakistan recommended CDA to install rainwater harvesting tanks at the household level.
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pakistan, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and WaterAid Pakistan organised a media briefing to highlight the artificial groundwater recharge site in Kachnar Park, Islamabad. The artificial groundwater recharge site in Kachnar Park has been implemented by IWMI and PCRWR through the project ‘Demonstration of nature-based solutions for improving the resilience of groundwater aquifers in Islamabad’. The project, funded by WaterAid, has identified seven potential groundwater recharge sites in Islamabad.
Dr Mohsin Hafeez, Country Representative – Pakistan and Regional Representative – Central Asia, IWMI, gave the welcome remarks and urged the media representatives to highlight water challenges in Islamabad, which have increased due to wastage of rainwater, horizontal expansion of the capital city, over-abstraction of groundwater resources, poor water supply, sanitation and hygiene issues, and unsustainable use. IWMI Pakistan has developed the first state-of-the-art artificial groundwater recharge pilot site equipped with complete instrumentation to measure groundwater quality, groundwater level, rainfall, and the amount of rainfall injected into the aquifer. This project will provide evidence-based information on rainfall contribution towards groundwater replenishment in Islamabad. To overcome water scarcity challenges in Islamabad, IWMI Pakistan has recommended CDA to install rainwater harvesting tanks at the household level.
PCRWR Chairman, Dr Muhammad Ashraf highlighted the role of PCRWR in the project. He said that the solution of water supply challenge is linked with rainwater harvesting for groundwater recharge, which needs to be up scaled to address groundwater depletion issues. He highlighted that the annual average rainfall in Islamabad is about 1.3m whereas; groundwater depletion is about 1m annually. It means that if we conserve the available rainwater potential efficiently through recharge, we could easily manage the demand and supply gap through groundwater.
Ministry of Water Resources Joint Secretary (Admin), Muhammad Yahya Akhunzada urged the media to sensitise public on rainwater harvesting for watering plants and conserving water resources at large. Capital Development Authority (CDA) Member (Finance), Rana Shakeel Asghar appreciated the efforts of IWMI, PCRWR, and WaterAid Pakistan in piloting the initiative and hoped that it will help recharge groundwater. He said that keeping in view the increasing water requirements of Islamabad, rainwater harvesting is important to recharge groundwater. For this purpose, 100 groundwater recharge sites are being constructed by CDA in collaboration with PCRWR, and CDA plans to further increase the number of groundwater recharge sites across Islamabad.
WaterAid Country Director Pakistan, Arif Jabbar Khan said that Pakistan is faced with challenges related to drinking water, both in terms of quality and quantity of surface and groundwater. Piloting and testing sustainable models that can be replicated by the public and private sectors is a key objective of WaterAid. Besides piloting this groundwater recharge model, WaterAid has developed and tested community-owned and managed water treatment plants and rural and urban wastewater treatment systems etc. “We will continue to support the people and government of Pakistan in meeting their WASH challenges through such efforts,” he said.
IWMI is an international, research-for-development organisation that works with governments, civil society and the private sector to solve water problems in developing countries and scale up solutions. Through partnership, IWMI combines research on the sustainable use of water and land resources, knowledge services and products with capacity strengthening, dialogue and policy analysis to support implementation of water management solutions for agriculture, ecosystems, climate change and inclusive economic growth. Headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, IWMI is a CGIAR Research Centre with offices in 13 countries and a global network of scientists operating in more than 30 countries. IWMI was established in Pakistan in September 1986 as a permanent research centre and has the status of an international organisation in Pakistan.
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pakistan, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and WaterAid Pakistan organised a media briefing to highlight the artificial groundwater recharge site in Kachnar Park, Islamabad. The artificial groundwater recharge site in Kachnar Park has been implemented by IWMI and PCRWR through the project ‘Demonstration of nature-based solutions for improving the resilience of groundwater aquifers in Islamabad’. The project, funded by WaterAid, has identified seven potential groundwater recharge sites in Islamabad.
Dr Mohsin Hafeez, Country Representative – Pakistan and Regional Representative – Central Asia, IWMI, gave the welcome remarks and urged the media representatives to highlight water challenges in Islamabad, which have increased due to wastage of rainwater, horizontal expansion of the capital city, over-abstraction of groundwater resources, poor water supply, sanitation and hygiene issues, and unsustainable use. IWMI Pakistan has developed the first state-of-the-art artificial groundwater recharge pilot site equipped with complete instrumentation to measure groundwater quality, groundwater level, rainfall, and the amount of rainfall injected into the aquifer. This project will provide evidence-based information on rainfall contribution towards groundwater replenishment in Islamabad. To overcome water scarcity challenges in Islamabad, IWMI Pakistan has recommended CDA to install rainwater harvesting tanks at the household level.
PCRWR Chairman, Dr Muhammad Ashraf highlighted the role of PCRWR in the project. He said that the solution of water supply challenge is linked with rainwater harvesting for groundwater recharge, which needs to be up scaled to address groundwater depletion issues. He highlighted that the annual average rainfall in Islamabad is about 1.3m whereas; groundwater depletion is about 1m annually. It means that if we conserve the available rainwater potential efficiently through recharge, we could easily manage the demand and supply gap through groundwater.
Ministry of Water Resources Joint Secretary (Admin), Muhammad Yahya Akhunzada urged the media to sensitise public on rainwater harvesting for watering plants and conserving water resources at large. Capital Development Authority (CDA) Member (Finance), Rana Shakeel Asghar appreciated the efforts of IWMI, PCRWR, and WaterAid Pakistan in piloting the initiative and hoped that it will help recharge groundwater. He said that keeping in view the increasing water requirements of Islamabad, rainwater harvesting is important to recharge groundwater. For this purpose, 100 groundwater recharge sites are being constructed by CDA in collaboration with PCRWR, and CDA plans to further increase the number of groundwater recharge sites across Islamabad.
WaterAid Country Director Pakistan, Arif Jabbar Khan said that Pakistan is faced with challenges related to drinking water, both in terms of quality and quantity of surface and groundwater. Piloting and testing sustainable models that can be replicated by the public and private sectors is a key objective of WaterAid. Besides piloting this groundwater recharge model, WaterAid has developed and tested community-owned and managed water treatment plants and rural and urban wastewater treatment systems etc. “We will continue to support the people and government of Pakistan in meeting their WASH challenges through such efforts,” he said.
IWMI is an international, research-for-development organisation that works with governments, civil society and the private sector to solve water problems in developing countries and scale up solutions. Through partnership, IWMI combines research on the sustainable use of water and land resources, knowledge services and products with capacity strengthening, dialogue and policy analysis to support implementation of water management solutions for agriculture, ecosystems, climate change and inclusive economic growth. Headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, IWMI is a CGIAR Research Centre with offices in 13 countries and a global network of scientists operating in more than 30 countries. IWMI was established in Pakistan in September 1986 as a permanent research centre and has the status of an international organisation in Pakistan.
