Find Water and Sanitation expertise in Pakistan

Water supply and treatment in Pakistan is largely the preserve of state run organisations called WASAs (Water and Sanitation Agencies). Regional councils (tehsils) take responsibility for water provision, although they can delegate this to municipal councils in big urban centres such as Karachi or Rawalpindi.

Pakistan is moving towards a market-based system for water treatment and sewerage, while groundwater is for residential use remains free. Industrial and agricultural water provision is subsidised.

There are many problems facing the Pakistani water system, with salinity, industrial effluent and a decreasing water table amongst them. However, a National Environmental Strategy has been drawn up, which aims to realise sustainable management of Pakistan’s water resources by 2025.

The Water and Sanitation Program undertook a study hoping to empirically estimate revolutions in the economic impacts of current poor sanitation conditions in Pakistan as well as the economic benefits of options for improved conditions. The aim of this program is to justify larger investments in improving the sanitation conditions in the country.