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A way forward towards the demand-based agriculture water supply using satellite data: a case study of the data-scarce region of Sindh, Pakistan

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Abstract

The swelling water demand due to population rise and inefficient water management has caused water scarcity in Pakistan’s Sindh Province. The Sindh province almost entirely relies on the Indus River supply to meet its demand to irrigate 6Mha of culturable area. Many studies have predicted a shortfall of water in the coming years. It is also anticipated that Pakistan may become water scarce until 2025, which will cause food security issues. This study, funded by the Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project (WSIP), aimed to understand the current water availability trends to develop sustainable water budgeting for the province. The agricultural activities in Sindh are usually carried out in two seasons—Rabi and Kharif. In this study, agricultural water use was estimated in terms of actual evapotranspiration (ET) for14 canal command areas (CCAs) of Sindh during the Rabi (Oct to Mar) and Kharif (Apr to Sept) seasons during 2017–2019. Landsat satellite data product—Earth Engine Evapotranspiration Flux (EEflux)—is used for analysis. This study assessed agriculture water balance for three scenarios: 1) Rabi and Kharif seasons, 2) a water year, and 3) overall growing seasons. The result shows that when flows are low in the Rabi seasons, the consumptive water use exceeds the combined canal flows and rainwater. The deficits were supposedly met through groundwater abstraction. However, during the Kharif season, water availability was in surplus of the need indicating a possible recharge of aquifers. This study proposes that the disparity of the supplies and demands can be balanced by reallocating the canal water supply based on the actual need. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of consumptive water use through GIS maps is also represented in this study. The water balance of all 14 CCAs in Sindh is illustrated in this paper, discussing possible guidelines on when, where, and how future allocations should be made.

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Notes

  1. These elevations are derived from satellite-based SRTM Digital Elevation Model

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan

    Arjumand Z. Zaidi, Nabeel Ali Khan, Bakhshal Khan Lashari & Vengus Panhwar

  2. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Nabeel Ali Khan

  3. College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82072, USA

    Vengus Panhwar

  4. Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project (WSIP), Sindh, Pakistan

    Farooq Ahmed Laghari

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  1. Arjumand Z. Zaidi
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  2. Nabeel Ali Khan
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  3. Bakhshal Khan Lashari
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  4. Vengus Panhwar
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Correspondence to Vengus Panhwar.

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Zaidi, A.Z., Khan, N.A., Lashari, B.K. et al. A way forward towards the demand-based agriculture water supply using satellite data: a case study of the data-scarce region of Sindh, Pakistan. Arab J Geosci 16, 495 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11603-x

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