Abysmally low water storage capacity in country.

LAHORE -- Pakistan's live water storage capacity has drastically dropped to 13.68 MAF (million acre feet) that equals only 30-day carryover capacity. It is much less than India that stands at 170 days.

The situation is worsening as Pakistan is fast heading towards water scarcity, according to a top official of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

'The live water storage capacity that used to be 16.26 million acre feet (MAF) in 1976 has now reduced to 13.68 MAF, which equals only 30-day carryover capacity. India has carryover capacity of 170 days. Egypt and the United States have 700 and 900 days, respectively. Therefore, we need urgently to increase our carryover water storage capacity from 30 to 120 days,' Wapda Chairman retired Lt Gen Muzammail Hussain said at a briefing to a delegation of the Air War College (Karachi). The team was headed by Air-Vice Marshal Zulfiqar Ahmed Qureshi.

Dilating upon the factors behind the dismal situation of water sector, the Wapda chief said per capita water availability in the country had come down from 5,650 cubic meter (1951) to an alarming level of 908 cubic meter per annum, pushing us to the stage of water-scarce country.

'Pakistan can store only 10pc of its annual river flows against the world average of 40pc,' he claimed.

Elaborating on the strategy for harnessing water and hydropower...