The Indus River plain is a vast expanse of fertile land located in the Eastern part of Pakistan.

Groundwater is crucial to the Indus River Plain (which is part of the larger Indus Basin system) as it supports over 60% of Pakistan’s irrigation needs and is critical for sustaining Pakistan’s agricultural-based economy and growing population.

However, aquifers,a rock layer that contains water, in the Indus Plain are naturally polluted by Arsenic. This is primarily due to natural geological processes, where young alluvial sediments rich in arsenic-bearing minerals from the Himalayas, release/mobilize arsenic into groundwater under anaerobic conditions. People pump and use this water, which can cause diseases through water/crop contamination. This article argues that while arsenic contamination originates from natural geological processes, this has been intensified by groundwater over-extraction and weak monitoring systems.

The formal institutional reform of the Indus Basin irrigation system, known as the Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) or the Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authorities (PIDA) reforms, was introduced in 1997. These reforms were to address financial instability, deteriorating infrastructure and inequitable water distribution. However, they indirectly ended up contributing to a massive surge in groundwater use, which now provides over 60% of irrigation water supplies in Pakistan. Furthermore, as surface supplies failed to meet increasing demand, private tube well numbers exploded to over 1 million by 2007. This overextraction further worsened the already prevalent arsenic contamination in the Indus Plain by exacerbating conditions for arsenic mobalisation.

Furthermore, the National Water Policy emphasized integrated water resource management, groundwater regulation, and safe drinking water provision, and the Punjab Water act (at a provincial level) provides a legal framework for groundwater licensing and monitoring. However, despite these policies, enforcement and monitoring remain inconsistent, especially in rural areas where private tube wells are used often for groundwater extraction

The underlying cause of arsenic mobilisation in the Indus Plain is due to certain geochemical conditions such as: Reducing environments, oxidising environments with elevated pH, geothermal activity, and oxidative weathering of sulfide minerals.. This causes young alluvial sediments, rich in arsenic-bearing minerals from the Himalayas to mobilize arsenic into groundwater. Furthermore, extensive Holocene sediments (deposited 11,700 years ago) are present across the Indus Plain. Overextraction of groundwater creates a high pH, oxygen-rich environment, enhancing arsenic production, too much pumping lowers water tables, triggering geochemical shifts.

Furthermore, arsenic contamination also has a detrimental effect on public health. In Punjab alone, the hazard quotient (HQ) of arsenic was 86% above the safe HQ (1.00) . Arsenic causes a plethora of health issues, like cardiovascular diseases by inducing oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Moreover, arsenic in the uterus can also lead to a higher risk of developmental abnormalities in a fetus. This contributes to the fact that Pakistan has one of the highest mortality rates for children under five, surpassing the global rate of 37 deaths per 1000 live births as of 2020 . Additionally, arsenic contamination also negatively impacts the nervous system, leading to neurological disorders.

Groundwater governance in Pakistan consists of weak regulatory frameworks and institutional fragmentation, which have allowed unregulated private extraction to dominate. Under common law traditions, groundwater rights are tied to land ownership, permitting landowners to install and operate tube wells without formal limits, while people who don’t own land have little protected access to water resources. This open access regime has led to individuals with greater resources extracting more water, exacerbating depletion and quality issues. Lack of comprehensive monitoring systems and enforcement capacity further undermines sustainable management.

Current solutions often fail due to the fact that they aim to resolve the symptoms rather than the root of the problem. Instead of simply making fixes that don’t address the root problem, integrated groundwater governance should be implemented, which is a comprehensive framework using formal/informal rules, policies, and actor networks to manage, protect, and sustainably utilize aquifer systems.

Groundwater licensing and abstraction limits should be enforced under provincial water acts, supported by metering systems in high-risk districts. Targeted arsenic mapping using geospatial monitoring can identify vulnerable zones and prioritize safe water infrastructure investment. Agricultural reform, such as promoting drip irrigation and less water-intensive crops can reduce extraction pressure.

Technically, there aren’t any immediate solutions, however, scientifically informed regulation combined with gradual agricultural transition offers the most feasible path forward. To conclude, addressing arsenic exposure requires systemic groundwater reform rather than isolated technological interventions. While mitigation strategies exist, long-term resilience depends on sustained actions and structural change.

Researcher – AXISTNS Beaconhouse

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