Pakistan, home of more than 250 million people, is approaching a deeper water crisis.
Climate change is pressing its grip, with growing temperatures, reduced glaciers and increasingly erratic rain. As a result, the water supply has become less reliable than ever. The hottest days mean greater evaporation, which increases the demand for drinking water and crop irrigation, which consumes more than 90 percent of the country’s available water.
At the same time, the expansion of the cultivated land, the increase in crop intensity and a rapid growth population are placing an even greater tension in the already stretched water resources. For an unfortunate turn, the recent conditions similar to drought and the heated debate on the six proposed channels have put the problem in an acute approach.
In recent decades, climate change, the environment and the water sector have been in the background to large infrastructure projects such as roads, underground steps, high steps and city leads; This negligence has reached a cost. As a result, many parts of Pakistan today face extreme water stress for crop irrigation, and for some, even access to drinking water will be a challenge in the coming years.
Under the surface, things are not better. Groundwater is running out at an alarming pace due to our growing dependence on it, since river flows continue to decrease. The indiscriminate pumping continues without control, driven by solar panels. Even in irrigation areas, water tables decrease by more than five feet every year. By aggravating the problem, water quality is also getting worse.
Pakistan must prioritize rainwater collection as a key solution to address their levels of groundwater in decline
Although the problem has reached the center of attention, and recently the Superior Court of Lahore urged the Punjab government to declare an emergency of water, but significant progress is still difficult to achieve. There is still no clear policy, no coherent strategy and little public investment to change things. Unlike other countries in the region, Pakistan is still delayed in the adoption of technologies proven for water storage and groundwater recharge.
One of these technologies is the inflatable rubber dam, a sealed and flexible structure installed in the water channels. Made of durable and waterproof material, these dams generally have hundreds of meters in length and are 1 to 3 meters high. Anchored to a concrete base with bars and bolts, they are inflated with air or water to form a rigid barrier.
Widely used in several countries in Europe, North America and Asia, inflatable rubber dams have multiple purposes, from storing water and controlling floods to recharging groundwater aquifers, each adapted to meet specific regional needs and environmental conditions. Japan and China lead worldwide with thousands of such facilities. Bangladesh has also built dozens since the 1990s. More recently, in 2025, Kazakhstan installed similar dams in his Kostanay region.
Unfortunately, despite identifying more than 30 viable sites along the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers, the Punjab government has spent the last decade in indecision. Not a single inflatable rubber dam has materialized. Plans accumulate dust while billions are channeled on roads and other concrete projects that offer much more political visibility than long -term water safety. It is a revealing reflex of priorities out of place.
Another profitable and high impact technology is the groundwater recharge wells that have been overlooked in the past despite their immense potential to combat the water tables that fall and mitigate urban floods. During heavy rains, particularly in the monsoon season, farmers often fight to drain the excess rainwater of their fields. They even closed their water courses from the channel and their weekly irrigation turns skip.
Similarly, in urban areas, rainwater from flood roofs, residential areas and shopping centers. Finally, all water surplus flows through flood drains, towards the rivers and finally to the sea, a tremendous loss in a country of water shortage.
Unlike other countries where rainwater collection serves mainly as a substitute for water transported from distant sources, Pakistan should prioritize it as a key solution to address its levels of groundwater in decline.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to harvest this unknown resource, and that begins with the promotion of large -scale groundwater recharge technology in rural and urban areas. The key lies in mobilizing the private sector to manufacture and supply the necessary components.
A similar approach has worked before: the Water Management Program on the Punjab farm introduced a parabolic coat of prefabricated concrete and encouraged a large group of local manufacturers. Initially, serving government projects, these companies now sell directly to farmers, who seek to reduce their individual losses in water on the farm.
In conclusion, Pakistan is among the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, and drought conditions witnessed in recent months can intensify in the coming years. Improving surface water storage is a solution, but it is equally important to replace groundwater reserves overexploited by the country.
The way forward requires not only consciousness but also actions, a decisive correction of the course and a collective effort to ensure the future of the nation’s water, before it is too late.
Chaudhary Mohammad Ashraft is the former general director (water management on the farm) of the Punjab Agriculture Department, and Khalid Wattoo is a farmer and a development professional.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, April 7, 2025
