LAHORE, Sept 13 — Lahore’s rapid urban expansion is choking its natural aquifers as concrete roads, plazas, and housing schemes block rainwater from seeping underground. Experts warn the city’s groundwater is plunging by 1–4 feet every year.
دریائے راوی پر ربڑ ڈیم لاہور کو ری چارج کرسکتا ہے؟
لاہور میں پچھلے دو دنوں میں 200 ملی لیٹر سے زیادہ بارش برس گئی ۔ اگر صرف اس ایک بارش کے زائد پانی ذخیرہ کر لیا جاتا تو واسا کو اگلے ایک مہینہ تک اپنے ٹیوب ویل چلانے کی ضرورت نہ تھی جب کہ اگست ستمبر تک اس شہرِ بے مثال میں ابھی… pic.twitter.com/U4qExyMezp
— Zafar Iqbal Wattoo (@engrzafarwattoo) July 13, 2025
Water Falling Fast
- Gulberg: water table dropped from 125 to 300 feet
- Other areas: now down to 150 feet
- In some places, drinking water only found at 700–800 feet depth
- Much of shallow water has turned brackish
Recharge Too Little
During this monsoon, only 1.5 million liters were recharged through 70 artificial wells, against the potential of 10–15 acre-feet. Most rainwater drained into sewers instead of refilling aquifers.
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Extraction Outpaces Supply
- 1,500–1,800 tube wells run nonstop across Lahore
- Extraction far exceeds recharge, worsening depletion
Expert Warning
Dr Zakir Hussain Siyal of the Irrigation Research Institute stressed urgent adoption of:
- Artificial recharge systems (wells, basins, tanks)
- Underground dams to block sub-surface flows
- Rainwater harvesting in schools, housing societies, and offices
“Without large-scale recharge projects, Lahore’s water reserves will sink to dangerously low levels,” Dr Siyal cautioned.
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