Abstract
Water resource management has now become the most important challenge in developing countries, especially, in an arid part of the world. In the case of Karachi city, the situation is getting worse day by day due to haphazard urban development, climate change, and an inadequate supply of fresh water. This paper reviews various published research articles and reports regarding Karachi water resources, supply, and demand. The city of over 20 million people has scarce local water resources and imports most of its required water from Indus and Hab Rivers. The city is undersupplied as its rationalized water demand is around 1250 million gallons per day (mgd), while receiving only 650 mgd. Another water source, Hab Dam, which is planned to supply 100 mgd water to the city, is highly uncertain due to intermittent drought conditions in the region. The mega city is facing a water scarcity problem very seriously because of the phenomenal growth of the population and the shortage of a water supply. Subsurface geology and surface topography are favorable to store water in dams and recharge the aquifers. However, over-extraction of water, scarcity of rainfall, sand and gravel excavation, and lack of groundwater recharge infrastructure have depleted the precious resource. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive city development master plan for future growth of the city with clear-cut priorities, policies, and implementation framework. Water sector should holistically be addressed by considering climate change, rapid urbanization, population growth, and perpetual increasing demand from all sectors including industries and agriculture. Besides the development of sustainable policies at the local government level, overall governance, administration, and management need to be improved which may implement the best practices and regulations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abulohom MS, Shah SM, Ghumman AR (2001) Development of a rainfall-runoff model, its calibration and validation. Water Resour Manag 15(3):149–163. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013069709740
Ahmad, M., & Burki, S. J. (2015, 07 05). Water crisis in Karachi: old issues needing a new look. Business Recorder
Ahmad, S. (2008). Water apportionment of Hub Dam: water conflict and strategy for resolution. Asian Development Bank
Ahmad, S., Bari, A., & Muhammad, A. (2003). Climate change and water resources of Pakistan: impact, vulnerabilities, coping mechanisms in Proceedings of the Year End Workshop on Climate Change and Water Resources in South Asia. Kathmandu, Nepal
Ahmed, A., Iftikhar, H., & Chaudhry, G. M. (2007). Water resources and conservation strategy of Pakistan. Pakistan Dev Rev, 997–1009
Akhtar S, Dhanani M (2012) Surface water drainage and flooding in Karachi city. Sindh Univ Res J-SURJ (Science Series) 44(1):59–70
Anwar, F. (2012). Karachi city climate change. Karachi: Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment
Anwar, F. (2014). Rural Karachi: facing an existential threat. Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment
Bakhsh HA, Rehman H, Shakir AS, Khan NM (2011) Flood inundation modeling for Malir watershed of Karachi considering future mean sea level rise. Pak J Engg Appl Sci 9:34–47
Bhutta, M. N., Ramzan, M., & Hafeez, C. A. (2002). Groundwater quality and availability in Pakistan. In Proceedings of seminar on strategies to address the present and future water quality issues. Islamabad: Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources
Birdsall, N., Kelley, A. C., & Sinding, S. W. (Eds.). (2001). Population matters: demographic change, economic growth, and poverty in the developing world. Oxford University Press, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/0199244073.001.0001
Brown RR, Keath N, Wong THF (2009) Urban water management in cities: historical, current and future regimes. Water Sci Technol 59(5):847–855. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2009.029
CDGK, (2007). The Karachi Strategic Development Plan – 2020 Karachi: Master Plan Group of Offices (MPGO) - CDGK
Chaudhry, Q. Z., Rasul, G., Kamal, A., Mangrio, M. A., & Mahmood, S. (2015). Technical report on Karachi heat wave June 2015. Ministry of Climate Change, Government of Pakistan
EPRI, Taylor T, Goldstein, R. (2010) Sustainable water resources management, volume 3: case studies on new water paradigm. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA and Tetra Tech 2009:1020587
FAO. (2003). Review of world water resources by country. FAO
Farooqi, A. B., Khan, A. H., & Mir, H. (2005). Climate Change perspective in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Meteorology, Vol. 2: Issue 3
Flint RW (2004) The sustainable development of water resources. Water ResUpdate Issue 127:41–51
Ghazal L (2012) Risk assessment of agricultural drought in Karachi. A remote sensing and GIS perspective. Department of Geography, University of Karachi, Karachi
Ghazal L, Kazmi SJH, Afsar S (2013) Spatial appraisal of the impacts of drought on agricultural patterns in Karachi. J Basic Appl Sci 9:352
Habitat, U. (2011). Global report on human settlements. United Nations Human Settlements Programme
Haider, K., & Anis, K. (2015, 6 24). Heat wave death toll rises to 2,000 in Pakistan’s financial Hab. Bloomberg News
Hamid G (2011) Geotechnical evaluation of rocks and soils of Karachi area and their impact on urbanization. University of Karachi, Karachi, Karachi
Haq, E. U. (1971). Landform drainage system basin in Karachi region. Karachi: MP & ED Report, KDA MP-Rp-9
Hasan, S. (2013). The 12 remaining Dumlottee wells. Dawn News
Hasan, S. (2015). Hub dam water level rises to 289 feet. Dawn News
Hassan A (2004) The Lyari expressway: citizen’s concerns and community resistance. Comparing Urban Landscapes Workshop, Lahore
Hellstrom D, Jeppsson U, Karrman E (2000) A framework for systems analysis of sustainable urban water management. Environ Impact Assess Rev 20(3):311–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0195-9255(00)00043-3
Hunting Survey Corporation, (1960). Reconnaissance geology of part of west. Pakistan (Colombo Plan Cooperative Project): Toronto, Government of Canada
Ihsanullah (2009) Evaluation and prospects of scientific management of water resources in Karachi city : a GIS perspective. Department of Geography, University of Karachi, Karachi, Karachi
JICA (2008) The study on water supply and sewerage system in Karachi. Japan International Cooperation Agency, Karachi
Kazmi, S. J. H., Shaikh, S., Tamiz, I., Khan, S., Arsalan M. H., (2015). EIA of K-IV Project: jointly conducted by University of Karachi, Osmani & Company and KW&SB. Karachi: EIA of K-IV project: jointly conducted by KW&SB and OCL
Kazmi, A.H., &Rana, R.A., 1982, Tectonic map of Pakistan (1:2,000,000): geological survey of Pakistan
Khan, A., & Bakhtiari, A. (2017). Groundwater assessment of coastal aquifers in Karachi: impact of seawater intrusion. Int J Ground Sediment & Water, Vol. 06
Khattak MI, Khattak MI (2013) Ground water analysis of Karachi with reference to adverse effect on human health and its comparison with other cities of Pakistan. J Environ Sci Water Resour 2(11):410–441
Mansoor A, Mirza S (2007) Waste disposal and stream flow quantity and quality of Lyari River. Indus J Manag Soc Sci (IJMSS) 1(1):70–82
Mashiat ullah, A. (2009) Application of isotope & hydrochemical techniques to address marine coastal pollution along Karachi Coast-Pakistan. University of the Punjab, Lahore
Mashiatullah, A., Qureshi, R. M., Ahmad, E., Tasneem, M. A., Sajjad, M. I., & Khan, H. A. (2002a). Groundwater salinity in coastal aquifer of Karachi, Pakistan
Mashiatullah A, Qureshi RM, Qureshi NA, Ahmed E (2002b) Physiochemical and biological quality of potable groundwater in Karachi. In: In seminar on strategies to address the present and future water quality issues. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, Islamabad
Memon M, Soomro MS, Akhtar MS, Memon KS (2011) Drinking water quality assessment in Southern Sindh (Pakistan). Environ Monit Assess 177(1):39–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1616-z
Mustafa, K. (2012, 09 23). Pakistan’s per capita water availability dwindling. The News
Niamatullah, M. & Imran, M. (2012), Structural geometry and tectonics of southern part of Karachi arc—a case study of Pirmangho and Lalji area, Search and Discovery Article #50581, accessed on 2 December 2017, URL http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/pdfz/documents/2012/50581niamatullah/ndx_niamatullah.pdf.html
Panhwer, R. A. (2011). Wastewater problem and its complications for KARACHI. Retrieved from WordPress: https://rashidalipanhwer.wordpress.com/my-research/
Pithawalla, M. B., & Martin-Kaye, P. H. A. (1946). Geology and geography of Karachi and its neighbourhood, Karachi
Sadaf, R. (2014). Watershed modeling of Hub River valley of Baluchistan through remote sensing and GIS. Karachi: University Of Karachi
Siegmann, K. A., & Shezad, S. (2006). Pakistan’s water challenges: a human development perspective. Sustain Dev Policy Instit (SDPI)
WAPDA (1990) Feasibility report of Malir River. Lahore, WAPDA
WAPDA (2015). HAB. Retrieved from WAPDA: http://www.wapda.gov.pk/index.php/transfer-posting-notifications/itemlist/category/29-Hab
Wasif, S. (2015). Heat wave: under scorching sun, Pakistan swelters. The Express Tribune
WHO (1994). Guidelines for drinking water quality, Vol I: recommendations, WHO: Geneva
Zia, M. Z. (2015, 05 10). Water shortage in Karachi. Pakistan Today
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Irfan, M., Kazmi, S.J.H. & Arsalan, M.H. Sustainable harnessing of the surface water resources for Karachi: a geographic review. Arab J Geosci 11, 24 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3365-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3365-6