Water Resources in Pakistan

1. Introduction
Water is an essential element for survival of
living things. It is vital factor for economic
development for increasing growth of
agriculture and industry. Since independence
our country constructed only two big dams
i.e. Tarbela and Mangla Dam. Statistics
indicate that due to stagnant water, water
availability is decreasing at an alarming rate.
Water is one of the basic requirements of life.
The usage of water can be divided in three
broad categories i.e. domestic consumption,
commercial/industrial use and usage for land
irrigation. Water is also important element of
the worlds ecological system.
God has gifted Pakistan with abundant water
resources, with rivers flowing down the
Himalayas and Karakoram heights from the
worlds largest glaciers and free and unique
bounty for this land.
Pakistan is basically an agricultural country.
Out of its total geographical area of 79.61
million hectares, cultivated area is 22.05

million hectares. The total area under

irrigation is 19.02 million hectares. Irrigated
land supplies more than 90 percent of
agricultural production and most of the
country food. Agriculture sector is regarded as
the backbone of Pakistans economy. About
more than 50 percent labor force is employed
in this sector. Agriculture sector is also the
major user of water and its consumption will
continue to dominate water requirement.
Similarly for industrial development main
source of energy is hydropower which is
generated by dint of water stored in big dams
and reservoirs. Therefore the importance of
the water for the survival of our economy
cannot be denied.
Rainfall
There are two major sources of rainfall in
Pakistan i.e. the Monsoons and the Western
Disturbances. There is about 70 percent of the
annual Monsoon rainfall from July to
September.
Pakistan has both arid and semi-arid zones.
The entire Indus plain receives an average

seasonal rainfall of 212mm and 53mm in the

Kharif and Rabi seasons respectively. The
rainfall varies as we move from the north and
northeast to the south of the country. It is only
the canal command areas in the NWFP and
the northern-most canal commands of the
Punjab Province that receive some
appreciable amount of rainfall during the
summer as well as in the winter season.
Glaciers
There are more glaciers in Pakistan than any
other land except North and South Poles. The
glacier area of Pakistan is about 13,680 sq.
km and on the average is 3 percent of
mountainous region of upper Indus Basin and
accounts for most of the river turnoff in
summer. Pakistan has greatest mass and
collection of glaciers on the earth.
Rivers and Dams
Pakistan has been blessed with a number of
rivers which are tributaries to the Indus. The
five main rivers which join Indus from eastern
side are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and
Sutlej, beside three minor rivers are the Haro,

Soan and Siran. There are a number of small

rivers which join the River Indus from the west
side, in which biggest river is Kabul and
others are Kunar, Punj, and Kora.