WATER RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
by

Wasim Ahsen EN-11

A blue planet: ….but
Oceans Glaciers, Ground Lakes,
97.5% Snow & water swamps &
permafrost 0.075% rivers
1.725% 0.025%

The world’s water

resources
 260 international
“Fierce basins:
competition for +/- tensions:
fresh water may well
become a source of
longstanding, conflictgrowing
always, & wars with
in thedemand
future.”
Kofi Annan, March 2001

 
           
                                                                                                
Actions and Consequences

1. The world’s water resources are under rapidly

growing pressure
Solutions can be found – although
costs will be high (‘economic scarcity’)

2. Without major water investments, many poor

economies cannot grow

De-linking rain from the economy is a

condition for growth, poverty eradication
Pakistan- Basic Water Facts
• Population: 160 million
• Area: 310,000 Sq. mi
(roughly 15% larger than
the State of Texas)
• Average rainfall: less than
10 inches/year
• Water availability less than
1,000 m3 per capita per
year
• Diarrheal disease kills 630
children PER DAY
• 88% of diarrhea from
contaminated water, and
poor sanitation and hygiene
The INDUS River

The Indus

Pakistan

India
 Some Basic
DEFINITIONS
The World Health Organisation
defines:
• safe water as “. . water that does not contain harmful
chemical substances or micro-organisms in
concentrations that cause illness in any form”

• adequate waters supply as “ . . one that provides safe

water in quantities sufficient for drinking, and for culinary,
domestic, and other household purposes so as to make
possible the personal hygiene of members of the
household. A sufficient quantity should be available on a
reliable, year-round basis near to, or within the
household where the water is to be used ”
 WATER SCARCITY
• Water scarcity in urban areas is of particular concern
because of migration of the rural population to urban
centres resulting in towns and cities expanding
rapidly
• Water scarcity can result from a variety of causes but
principally either source limitation, poor distribution,
or inequality between the rich and the poor.
• What happens when there is a lack of water is all to
apparent in many developing country cities
– Increase the health burden on the urban poor, who
often constitute the very labour source that
generates the cities wealth.
WATER POLICY- MoE
SEP 2009
 DRINKING WATER POLICY
(September -2009)
SALIENTS FEATURES
Currently over 65 percent of Pakistan’s
population is considered to have access to
safe drinking water
Huge disparities, however, exist with regard
to drinking water coverage between urban and
rural areas and provinces/regions
It has been estimated that water, sanitation
and hygiene related diseases cost Pakistan
economy about Rs.112 billion per year, over
Rs.300 million a day, in terms of health costs
and lost earning
POLICY GUIDELINES
Increasing Access
Protection and Conservation of Water
Resources
Appropriate Technologies and
Standardization
WATER DEMAND
Community MANAGEMENT
Participation (WDM)
and Empowerment
Public Awareness
Capacity Development
Public-Private Partnership
Research and Development
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Coordinated Planning and Implementation
Legislation
WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT
(WDM)
WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT
(WDM)
(
• Saving water rather than the development of new sources is
often the best ‘next’ source of water, both from an economic
and from an environmental point of view.
– WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT (WDM) therefore is
seen as the preferred alternative to meet increasing water
demand.
• Main objective of WDM is to contribute to more efficient and
equitable provision of water services
• Many instruments have been developed for WDM
– Instruments are interdependent and mutually
reinforcing and the most optimal way they are
applied will depend on the prevailing local
conditions.
 BENEFITS OF WDM
• Attractive to governments as it can “buy time” by delaying the need for
large capital investment in expansion of the water sector.
– In most cases, the savings achieved by delaying an investment
can provide financial resources to more than cover the costs of
implementing a comprehensive demand management programme.
• Prospect of conserving water for industrial, agricultural and
commercial organisation is always an attractive proposition as it
almost always results in a reduction of operation costs.
• In many water short cities there is always a proportion of the
population who are without adequate water supplies. By saving water
in higher income areas, more resources could be made available to
the poor.
In Karachi WDM must be used to promote equity in supply
 CONSTRAINTS TO WDM
• There are various obstacles and constraints to
overcome before the full potential of WDM
principles can be achieved.
– Lack of awareness of WDM methods
– Lack of political will
– Lack of institutional framework
– Limited technical options
 METHODS ADOPTED FOR
WDM
• Reducing unaccounted for water
– Leak detection
– Reducing illegal connections and unmetered connections
• Water Restriction (intermittent Supplies)
• Retro-fitting
• Rain water harvesting
• Wastewater reuse
• Water Tariffs
• Public Awareness
• Conservation for Industry
 REDUCING UFW
• Unaccounted for water (UFW) may be defined and that
percentage of the water produced from the raw water
source which is not accounted for.
• UFW is most often due to a combination of :
– Leakage in bulk mains or secondary or tertiary
networks;
– Illegal connections; or Un-metered connections
• In many countries the situation is growing rapidly worse
– Although leakage has remained relatively constants,
the major cause of UFW is illegal connections.
ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS AND
UNMETERED CONNECTIONS
• In city distribution systems, illegal connections may be the
result of contractors connecting illegally to supply new housing
developments or unplanned and “illegal” settlements
connecting to such supplies.
• Illegal connections are difficult to monitor especially where
access to settlement is hindered (public order problems)
• In some cases where previous supply systems were unmetered
or where have ceased to function properly, a proportion of the
consumers may not be charged or pay a different price.
• Before any WDM programme is implemented, unmetered
connections must be reduced to an absolute minimum and
metering coverage maximised in all sectors.
Serious problem arising from I.S
is high levels of contamination.
• Intermittent systems are empty for many
hours of the day at which time pollutants
can enter through leaks in the supply
pipes.
For Example

• Karachi, Pakistan
– In some zones of the Karachi WSS up to
80% of the samples analysed were found
to contain high counts of faecal coliform
 GOVERNMENTS ADOPT
EXTREME MEASURES
• Since the water quantity available for supply generally
is not sufficient to meet the demands of the population,
water conservation measures are employed.
– In many countries the sector is historically rather
inefficient and tends to operate on a crisis
management basis.
– Demand management limited and often arise from
dire need rather than good planning.
• One of the most common methods of controlling water
demand is the use of intermittent supplies, usually by
necessity rather than design.
 RETRO-FITTING
• Retro-fitting provides one of the most effective short-term
options for reducing water demand.
• Many government buildings or institutions do not pay for
their water or the consumers have no interest in
conservation.
– Good examples are University campuses, Ministry
buildings, government hospitals etc. With very little
capital investment, usually only a few dollars per fitting,
water consumption may be reduced by as much as
20%
• Incentives are offered to those who retrofit including,
payment grants from local authorities
 WASTEWATER REUSE
• Treated wastewater or in some cases urban runoff or stormwater
(rain water harvesting) could be reused efficiently.
– Botswana - Vegetable gardening area of 150 m² at a clinic in
Lobatse was irrigated with water from sinks and hand basins. All
waste water was drained into drums dug into the ground .
– Bulawayo - Final effluent from sewage treatment works is treated
for reuse on suburban parks, golf courses, nurseries, schools…
• May require dedicated distribution system (may be open to abuse
and those urban poor without adequate supply).
• In many culture there is also a cultural taboo about reusing wastes
of all types.
– This may have to be addressed in public awareness campaigns.
 TARIFF STRUCTURES
• Tariff structures designed to conserve water must penalize
over use but not minimize access to the urban poor.
– Punitive tariff structure should consider setting the
‘basic needs tariff at a level affordable by very poor
households with significantly higher tariffs imposed for
consumption above the basic needs level.

• Tariffs for industry and agricultural purposes should not

encourage wasteful use but should make formal supply
sources more attractive than alternatives, which may have
a detrimental effect on the environment.
 LEAKAGE DETECTION
• Leakage is often a large source of unaccounted for water and
is a result of either lack of maintenance or failure to renew
ageing systems.
• In cities information does exist but there is a lack of resources
to undertake an efficient leakage repair programme.
• Leakage can also take place after a consumers meter but is
frequently neglected as the water has been paid for.
• In many cases leakage detection and repair will require some
additional capital investment and human resources.
• In many cities leakage is given a low level of priority and in
some cities is only really accepted as a necessary evil,
suffering from low staff moral.
 CONSERVATION FOR
INDUSTRY
• Targeting WDM strategies at industry may have a
much greater impact than focusing on the domestic
sector alone
• Many industries use outdated processes and pay little
regard for water recycling within the organization.
• Industries may have developed private supplies and
enjoy unlimited abstraction but it may be from the
same source as the public supply, contributing to
resource depletion.
• In most cases, water conservation within industry will
result in savings in operation cost which may be the
best encouragement for conservation.
 PUBLIC AWARENESS
• Awareness campaigns to reduce water use amongst all
consumers can play an important role in demand
management.
• Such campaigns need to focus on the urgency of
conserving water now to hopefully avert a crisis sometime
in the future.
• Improved awareness should be tackled at all levels incl. a
role for communities and grassroots organizations.
• The use of mass media is cost effective in most cities as
even the urban poor have access to such communication
tools
• Religious and cultural preferences must also be followed
particularly where local community actions related to
integrated management of services. i.e. use of sanitation
facilities for washing/personal hygiene.
 SUMMARY
• Water crisis is a reality in most Urban
Centres including KARACHI
• Proactive WDM enables the effective,
efficient and equitable use of limited water
especially in Future
• An objective of WDM must be improved the
equity of the distribution of limited water
amongst stakeholders
• A participatory approach is essential for
effective WDM
THANK YOU