Agricultural areas around Karachi, particularly Malir, Gadap, and Bin Qasim Town, face severe water shortages due to aging dams and declining groundwater levels, threatening local farms and communities.
Karachi’s outskirts, including regions like Malir, Gadap, and Bin Qasim Town, are grappling with a worsening water crisis as old rainwater storage dams deteriorate. The reduced capacity of these structures has led to falling groundwater levels, severely impacting agricultural productivity and forcing farmers to sell their land at low prices. Often, this leads to the conversion of farmland into housing schemes or informal settlements.
Historical research by Gul Hassan Kalmati indicates that Karachi and its surrounding areas contain 78 seasonal streams and rivers that flow into five major rivers before reaching the sea. Rehabilitating more than 50 dams and constructing new ones could help conserve rainwater, recharge groundwater, protect agriculture, reduce temperatures, and prevent flooding in areas such as Saadi Town and Scheme 33.
According to officials, Karachi’s outskirts were equipped with dams built by various entities including the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Gadap Town administration, the Irrigation Department, and private developers like Bahria Town and DHA City. These structures were designed to store rainwater and recharge groundwater for agricultural use and local communities.
Meteorological data shows that Karachi has experienced above-normal rainfall in recent years. The city’s average annual rainfall is 186.3 mm, with the highest recorded at 481.4 mm in 1994 and the most significant monthly rainfall of 366.8 mm in August 2020. Karachi's monsoon season typically lasts from July to September, while winter rains usually occur between December and February.
A Sindh government official climate change is increasing temperatures and disrupting rainfall patterns. While many countries tackled water shortages decades ago through rainwater harvesting infrastructure such as dams and reservoirs, Pakistan’s provinces implemented such measures slowly and neglected maintenance of existing dams. The Hub Dam, built by WAPDA in 1984, serves as a successful example, supplying 100 million gallons of water daily to Karachi and 37 million gallons to Balochistan.
Environmental activist Akhtar Rasool highlighted that many dams have accumulated silt and urgently require cleaning to restore storage capacity. He also pointed out that illegal sand and gravel extraction and tree cutting are slowing groundwater recharge. Areas within 2-3 kilometers of dams still have water available at depths of 60-70 feet, while distant areas require drilling 400-600 feet deep.
An engineer from the Irrigation Department’s Small Dams division refuted claims that Thaddo Dam or Lath Dam had breached, stating such reports are disinformation. He blamed blocked natural drainage routes rather than the dams for the 2022 flooding in Saadi Town. Landowner Lal Bakhsh acknowledged that farmers face severe water shortages and electricity load shedding, with groundwater in remote areas lying as deep as 400 feet.
Former NED University Vice Chancellor Dr Sarosh Lodhi emphasized that rainwater conservation has become a global priority due to climate change. He suggested that Karachi urgently needs more dams to preserve runoff from surrounding mountains and recharge groundwater.
Efforts to address the water crisis through dam rehabilitation and construction are crucial for sustaining agricultural productivity and protecting local communities in Karachi’s outskirts.
