Pakistan: Rawalpindi's water plants turn into health hazards amid neglect
Rawalpindi, October 8
Water filtration plants installed across Rawalpindi to provide residents with safe drinking water are reportedly supplying muddy and potentially contaminated water, with outdated filters and declining groundwater levels worsening the situation, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, residents in several parts of the city have raised repeated complaints about the worsening quality of water supplied through filtration plants, but authorities have yet to take effective corrective measures. Filtration plants located in Union Council 46, Naya Mohalla, Sadiqabad, Dhoke Ilahi Bakhsh and Dhoke Hasu have reportedly received numerous complaints.
Residents claim that water coming from these facilities contains visible soil and is unfit for consumption. Operators of the affected plants attributed the worsening water quality primarily to a shortage of funds. They said filters had not been replaced for a prolonged period, preventing the plants from functioning properly. Operators also pointed to falling groundwater levels, saying the tube wells supplying the plants were increasingly drawing water mixed with soil. The problem appears to extend beyond individual filtration facilities.
Several tube wells installed across Rawalpindi by the Municipal Corporation, WASA and District Council before 2000 are now facing significant declines in groundwater availability. Sources said groundwater levels remained relatively stable until around 2000 but have since fallen by more than 200 feet between 2001 and 2026.
The sharp decline has reportedly affected the quality and reliability of water drawn from older tube wells. As groundwater levels have receded, old tube wells are increasingly supplying water containing soil, while filtration plants connected to these sources are struggling to provide safe drinking water, as cited by The Express Tribune.
Residents, including Iftikharuddin, Fayyaz Shah, Farhan Hamid and Fayyaz, said they had laboratory-tested samples of the water and found them to be highly harmful. They also claimed to have submitted complaints to the relevant Pak Ab Authority, but said no meaningful action had followed, as reported by The Express Tribune.
— ANI
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