Karachi could face a shortfall of 100 million gallons of water per day (MGD) due to a power outage at the Dhabeji pumping station, which is expected to be fully repaired tomorrow, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said on Sunday.
Dhabeji Pumping Station is a key pumping station operated by KWSC, Karachi’s sole water utility, supplying major areas of the city. Past breakdowns at the facilities have affected supply to the eastern and central districts, including areas like Nazimabad, New Karachi, Landhi and Korangi.
In a statement today, a KWSC spokesperson said the “major” power outage at the second phase of Dhabeji station was reported at 6.35am.
“Due to the sudden power outage, the 72-inch number 5 line was affected, while four phase pumps were shut down,” a later KWSC statement said, adding that the problem “severely damaged” the water supply system.
“According to initial estimates, the city could face a shortage of 100 million gallons of water due to pump shutdowns and line impacts,” the KWSC warned.
He said water supply to the city was resumed by restoring power supply to two pumps of the second phase of the station at 9 am. The other two pumps will also return to operation as soon as repair work on the affected pipeline is completed, the company added.
Repair work on the affected line was started on an “emergency” basis following the directives of KWSC CEO Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, the statement said.
He assured citizens that KWSC technical teams were “using all resources to make every effort to restore water supply to the affected line.”
According to the statement, the restoration work is expected to be completed on Monday, after which the entire system at the Dhabeji pumping station will be operational as usual.
The KWSC stated that the repair work on the affected line “will be completed urgently” and assured citizens that the utility management was doing everything possible to complete the repair work in a timely manner.
“As soon as the repair works have been completed, the Dhabeji pumping station system will return to routine,” the utility added.
The statement recalls that electricity at Dhabeji station remained suspended for “many hours” on November 5, 11 and 13 due to a “fault in the K-Electric cable in the second phase, the fourth phase and the K-III pump room.”
The KE said on November 14 (Friday) that power had been restored to 20 of the 22 pumps. The company blamed “leaks” in KWSC’s water pipes for damaging underground power cables.
The Dhabeji pumping station, which is the city’s main water intake point, relies heavily on uninterrupted electricity. Even brief interruptions result in immediate service interruptions.
The station has been facing multiple issues related to poor maintenance and technical issues for a decade, with multiple breakdowns this year alone, leaving residents in many areas dealing with a water crisis.
Karachi faced a shortfall of 100 MGD in January after “two water pipes burst due to power outage” at Dhabeji station. The facility also remained without power for at least three days in late June, causing a 350 MGD shortfall.
Last month, a pump at the Dhabeji station was taken offline for maintenance needs, while the North East Pumping Station was already facing a power outage.
Due to persistent water shortages throughout the city, people mainly rely on water tankers. However, they face many difficulties in obtaining them, since the water company receives more reserves than the quota of water reserved for each district.
