By Sardar Khan Niazi

In Pakistan, the warning bells about water scarcity are no longer distant echoes — they are blaring sirens. The signs are clear: parched fields, falling groundwater tables, drying rivers, and erratic urban water supply. Yet, as a nation, we continue to treat water as an infinite resource, wasting it with a sense of entitlement we can no longer afford. According to the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Pakistan may face absolute water scarcity by 2025. That date has come and gone — and the situation has only worsened. With per capita water availability dropping below 1,000 cubic meters, we are now in the red zone. It is astonishing that despite this grim reality, we continue to squander water in our homes, fields, industries, and daily routines with barely a thought. Water waste begins at home. In urban households, taps are often left running while brushing teeth, washing dishes or cleaning cars. Leaking pipes are left unattended, and filtered drinking water is dumped when bottles are changed. There is little awareness about conservation, and even less effort to build a culture of responsible consumption. The affluent in gated communities run fountains, overwater gardens, and install swimming pools while nearby low-income areas go dry for days. Agriculture, which uses over 90% of our freshwater, is plagued by inefficient irrigation techniques. Flood irrigation — a method where fields are literally flooded — is still the most common practice in Pakistan, despite its proven inefficiency. Crops like sugarcane and rice, which require enormous quantities of water, are grown in areas least suited for them. The lack of drip irrigation, poor canal maintenance, and absence of water pricing mechanisms means that water is treated as free — and what comes free is often wasted. Industrial water usage, too, remains unchecked. Many factories discharge untreated wastewater into rivers and canals, contaminating what little is........

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