Karachi Faces Potential 100 MGD Water Shortfall After Major Power Breakdown at Dhabeji Pumping Station

Karachi may experience a shortage of up to 100 million gallons of water per day (MGD) after a major power breakdown disrupted operations at the Dhabeji Pumping Station early Sunday morning, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) announced. Full restoration of the system is expected by Monday, according to the utility.

The Dhabeji Pumping Station — Karachi’s largest and most critical water intake facility — supplies vast parts of the metropolis, including the East and Central districts. Past disruptions have severely impacted neighbourhoods such as Nazimabad, New Karachi, Landhi and Korangi.

A KWSC spokesperson said the breakdown occurred at 6:35am in the second phase of the pumping station. The sudden suspension of electricity halted four pumps and damaged the 72-inch Line No. 5, causing what officials described as “severe” harm to the water supply system. “According to initial estimates, the city could face a shortage of 100 million gallons of water due to the pumps’ shutdown and the line being impacted,” the utility warned.

Power was restored to two pumps by 9am, allowing partial resumption of water supply. The remaining pumps will be reactivated once repairs to the damaged pipeline are completed. KWSC Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Ali Siddiqui has directed that the work be carried out on an emergency basis, with technical teams “utilising all resources” to minimise disruption.

The utility said repairs should be completed by Monday, after which Dhabeji’s full pumping capacity is expected to return to routine operation. It also assured residents that all efforts were being made to complete the work swiftly.

The statement noted that the Dhabeji station has experienced repeated outages this month. Electricity remained suspended for several hours on November 5, 11 and 13 due to K-Electric cable faults affecting multiple phases, including the K-III Pumping House. K-Electric said last week that power to 20 of the station’s 22 pumps had been restored, attributing cable damage to leakages in KWSC’s pipelines.

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The recurring failures highlight longstanding issues at Dhabeji, which has faced maintenance and technical challenges for over a decade. Even brief outages trigger immediate supply disruptions in Karachi, prompting repeated crises. Earlier this year, the city experienced a 100 MGD shortfall in January after two pipelines burst due to a power outage, and another major outage in June caused a shortage of 350 MGD for several days.

With ongoing shortages, many residents rely heavily on water tankers, but rising demand continues to overwhelm the system, creating difficulties for households across the city.

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