ISLAMABAD, Dec 25: Water Quality Laboratory of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) was inaugurated here on Tuesday.

Different cities so far have 21 water quality testing laboratories.

These labs have state of the art equipment and are functional in Lahore, Bahawalpur, Tandojam, Quetta, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Multan.

Some labs are also present in Sargodha, Mianwali, D.G. Khan, Nawab Shah, Karachi, Hyderabad, Abbottabad, Muzaffarabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Badin and Lora Lai.

Talking to APP, Spokesperson PCRWR Lubna Naheed said six research and demonstration farms have also been established to conduct research on various aspects of water resources.

It includes testing water conservation technologies, developing efficient irrigation techniques/methods, evolving desertification control technologies, rainwater harvesting techniques and saline agriculture.

Besides, low cost artificial groundwater recharge techniques like leaky structures/dams have been introduced in Balochistan to rejuvenate dried karezes and wells in the area of Marget (Quetta), Punjpai, Chashma Achozai and Kan Metherzai.

She said PCRWR has designed and installed 700 chlorine dosing systems on water supply schemes of flood affected areas of the country for providing safe drinking water.

“Low cost water quality testing kits have been developed for main drinking water quality parameters and water treatment technologies for the removal of arsenic, turbidity and microbiological contamination”. — APP