Pakistan initiates $4.4m project to enhance water quality monitoring

November 20, 2024 (MLN): The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination has initiated a $4.4 million project to monitor the drinking water quality, according to the press release issued today.

This project will benefit over 62m people in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab & Islamabad.

The project titled 'Enhancing Water Quality Monitoring System to Achieve SDG 6 in Islamabad, Punjab, and KP’ is being implemented in collaboration with the Punjab and KP provincial governments, the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), and Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA).

The project focuses on significant upgrades to water-quality testing laboratories. This includes the procurement and installation of advanced laboratory equipment and minor infrastructure improvements to ensure a safe working environment.

It also emphasizes capacity building for laboratory staff and the WASH Cell of the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC).

Additionally, a Management Information System (MIS) will be introduced to enhance coordination.

The project also provides mobile water-quality testing facilities, including 8 vehicles for the government of KP and 1 vehicle for PCRWR.

The aforesaid information was shared by Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam during the event in Baku on the sidelines of CO29 Global Climate Summit on Tuesday at Pakistan Pavilion.

She was of the view that climate change is adversely affecting water quality globally, exacerbating challenges of shrinking water availability, its contamination and affecting ecosystem health.

Coping with common water-related challenges requires collaboration and cooperation among countries.

Global heating has increased temperatures of water bodies including lakes, rivers and oceans worldwide, reducing oxygen levels and threatening aquatic ecosystems, she added.

Warmer waters are also more prone to algal blooms, including toxic cyanobacteria, which harm aquatic life and contaminate drinking water sources.

This event is co-organised by the Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Pakistan Office and SEED Pakistan, a non-governmental organisation.

Global communities, particularly those living in the global south are faced with rapidly deteriorating water quality but also its declining availability due to climate change, she added.  

Addressing these global-scale water quality challenges can be tackled only through global response, Romina Khurshid Alam emphasised.

The PM’s climate aide pointed out that tackling soaring levels of water quality is crucial to protect lives of the people and reduce disease burden.

Poor water quality, when consumed directly or through food sources, only increases the prevalence of waterborne diseases, which are often amplified by extreme weather events such as floods and droughts.

 Heavier rainfall increases runoff, which can carry pollutants like pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial waste into freshwater sources.

Besides, prolonged dry periods concentrate pollutants in shrinking water bodies, leading to higher salinity, reduced dilution of contaminants, and poor water quality, she highlighted.

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