LAHORE: Punjab plans to increase the availability of usable water by expanding waste water and surface water treatment capacity across the province by 2029, according to the housing and urban development department.
Under the proposed Urban Water Management Plan, the province will plan and implement treatment of up to 930 million gallons of waste water and surface water per day, with the aim of increasing the share of usable surface water from the current six per cent to 27pc. The plan was presented to Housing Secretary Noorul Amin Mengal by a technical team of the housingdepartment and Punjab Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa).
The plan envisages making waste water and surface water important alternative sources of water and reducing reliance on groundwater. The housing secretary directed the officials concerned to promote alternative water sources and take steps to reduce dependence on groundwater. He also called for increasing the use of surface water in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and other districts.
According to a department spokesperson, the plan includes the planning and implementation of waste water treatment plants with a combined capacity of 800m gallons per day. The spokesperson said 130m gallons of treated sur-face water per day would also be added to the water system under the plan.
‘Significant progress is expected in organised urban water management projects across Punjab by 2029,’ the spokesperson said, adding that planning and implementation of the projects was being carried out in accordance with international standards.
The department said treated water from alternative sources would help conserve groundwater, while measures were being prioritised to address the declining groundwater table. The initiative, it said, was being pursued in line with the Punjab chief minister’s vision of promoting smart urban water management across the province.