HYDERABAD: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has stopped lifting water from its sources of intake in Indus river and its off-taking canals due to constantly increasing TDS (total dissolved solids) turning water unfit for human consumption.

The action is bound to aggravate water shortage in the city.

Wasa has taken proactive measure to address the issue, and lifting of water from various points of upstream and downstream Indus river and its canals has totally been stopped, according to a Wasa communication addressed to the higher authorities concerned.

On Monday (April 1), Wasa sought intervention of the Hyderabad commissioner urging him to take action and caution the general public against consuming this water. The Wasa managing director is said to have addressed his letter to the commissioner after values of TDS were found increasing as per the agency’s lab reports prepared on April 1.

Says levels of impurities in Hyderabad reservoirs constantly rising; water shortage in city may exacerbate in days to come

The MD requested the commissioner that directives may be issued to irrigation department to increase freshwater flows into Indus river so that lagoons (storage reservoirs of Wasa) could be filled with safe water for onward supplies to consumers through filtration plants.

According to the lab reports, TDS in river water was recorded at 875mg per litre (mg/l) at 9am and then at 12noon. In filtration plant and lagoons, TDS stood at 732mg/l and 875mg/l, respectively. At 4pm on Monday, TDS were recorded at 774mg/l and 778mg/l at the filtration plant and lagoons, respectively.

As the TDS values continued to show an upward trend since the last week of March, the Wasa MD had to bring it to the notice of the Hyderabad commissioner and other authorities, including the additional chief secretary of local government, Hyderabad mayor, director general of the Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA), Hyderabad deputy commissioner and chief engineer of the Kotri Barrage.

“There has been consistent increase in TDS [levels],” says the communication. It mentions that the value started from 500mg/l TDS and shot up to 875mg/l by now. MD incorporated values of the TDS recorded at new filtration plant off Jamshoro road, Hala Naka, Paretabad and Hussainabad filtration plants in letter.

He also discussed available storages in Wasa facilities including lagoons. According to him, the new (30mgd filtration plant has left with two days of storage, Hala Naka and Paretabad three days each, Hussainabad upstream and downstream one day each and Latifabad has zero capacity.

Discharges from Manchhar halted

Water technologist Dr Ahsan Siddiqui told Dawn that discharges from Manchhar Lake had been stopped now. He has been monitoring quality of the lake’s water regularly under a Supreme Court directive. “TDS on March 23 at A.D. Baloch point was 548mg/l which dropped to 238mg/l on March 31,” said Dr Siddiqui. He said that sample from the A.D. Baloch point was collected as per standard operating procedure (SOP) for checking water quality.

“This is the point where Manchhar Lake’s water, released through Aral Wah, falls into Indus river after covering around four to five kilometre distance,” he said. He said that Manchhar lake’s own TDS was still as high as 3,130 mg/l due to releases of water into it from the Main Nara Valley Drain (MNVD).

Irrigation authorities have reported to water technologist that the releases into the Indus from the lake via Aral Wah had been completely stopped.

Also on Monday, a filtration plant official was asked by the Wasa management to visit Manchhar Lake to see whether there were some leakages from Aral Wah into Indus river.

Earlier, the Hyderabad DC had raised the issue with irrigation secretary about rising levels of TDS in Indus river water. But quality of Indus river water as per Wasa laboratory’s regular test reports shows that TDS levels are consistently registering an upward trend. “If irrigation authorities released water downstream Kotri Barrage, then water to Latifabad and various areas can be provided,” said a Wasa official.

MQM-P worried over imminent shortage

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan MPA from Latifabad Sabir Kaimkhani has expressed his party’s concern over imminent aggravation of water shortage in the city. In a press release, he urged the commissioner and HDA director general to ensure adequate supply of drinking water to the city. He complained that Wasa was not supplying water his constituency.

He also called for increasing water storage capacity for Hyderabad maintaining that the existing reservoirs were insufficient. He said that unending power loadshedding had also made the matters worse.

Adequate supplies promised

The Hyderabad DC and HDA DG have, meanwhile, assured the MPA that water supply to the entire city would be ensured. They told him that police assistance would be sought for the areas where water was not reaching.

They said that a meeting of the district administration, HDA and Wasa would be held to resolve the issue.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2024