Environment

Kabul faces water crisis as drought, population strain supply

AFP

A shortage of rain, a booming population and wasteful consumption have drained Kabul's water basin and sparked a race to the bottom as households and businesses bore deeper and deeper wells in search of the precious resource. Snow has fallen in the city this month but it is not nearly enough to solve the water shortage -- in some areas the level has dropped 20 metres in the past year. [LAURENT ABADIE, RATEB NOORI / AFPTV / AFP]

KABUL -- Standing in his garden in Kabul, Baz Mohammad Kochi oversees the drilling of a new well more than 100 metres deep after his first water reservoir dried up. He is not alone.

A shortage of rain and snow, a booming population and wasteful consumption have drained the capital's water basin and sparked a race to the bottom as households and businesses bore deeper and deeper wells in search of the precious resource.

"The water level has dropped so much that it is now necessary to reach other underground basins 100 metres, even 120 metres" deep, says well digger Mohammad Aman as his dilapidated machine pierces the earth in Kochi's yard.

Every year 80 million cubic metres (2.8 billion cubic feet) of water are extracted from Kabul's aquifers -- almost double the natural recharge rate through precipitation, according to the utility Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation.

This photo taken on October 25, 2018 shows Afghan boys carrying containers of water to their home in Kabul. A shortage of rain and snow, booming population and wasteful consumption have drained the Afghan capital's water basin and sparked a race to the bottom as households and businesses bore deeper and deeper wells in search of the precious resource. [WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP]

This photo taken on October 25, 2018 shows Afghan boys carrying containers of water to their home in Kabul. A shortage of rain and snow, booming population and wasteful consumption have drained the Afghan capital's water basin and sparked a race to the bottom as households and businesses bore deeper and deeper wells in search of the precious resource. [WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP]

This photo taken on October 25, 2018 shows an Afghan man filling water from a water tank at a mosque in Kabul. [WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP]

This photo taken on October 25, 2018 shows an Afghan man filling water from a water tank at a mosque in Kabul. [WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP]

This photo taken on November 14, 2018 shows Afghan labourers working on a well to bring up water in a residential garden in Kabul. [WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP]

This photo taken on November 14, 2018 shows Afghan labourers working on a well to bring up water in a residential garden in Kabul. [WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP]

As a result Kabul's water table has fallen at least 30 metres (100 feet) in recent years, says Asian Development Bank (ADB) deputy country director Shanny Campbell.

Snow has fallen in the city this month, but it is not nearly enough to solve the water shortage -- in some areas the level has dropped 20 metres in the past year.

"The problem we have in Kabul is the massive increase in population, impact of climate change and overall less precipitation and snowfall," Campbell explains.

Only about 20% of Kabul is connected to the city's piped water system, leaving many residents to ensure their own supply by digging wells that are often shared by several neighbours.

Others buy water from private companies or, like Mohammad Nazir, fill up jerry cans at mosques or more than 400 public taps scattered around the city.

"There is no point turning on the taps -- there is no water here," says Nazir, 50, who lives on a hill where the ground is too hard to dig a well and where the city's pipes do not reach.

"It's the worst year we've ever lived."

Undrinkable

Water is not only scarce in Kabul, but most of it is undrinkable, according to the National Environmental Protection Agency.

About 70% of the city's groundwater is contaminated by waste and chemicals from leaky household septic tanks and industrial plants that can cause diarrhoea or other illnesses if the water is not boiled or purified properly.

Efforts to increase connections to the municipal piped water network and improve sanitation systems are under way.

But progress is slow as authorities struggle to keep up with demand in one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

Kabul's population has more than doubled to about five million in the past 30 years, boosted by newcomers fleeing war and poverty.

It is expected to reach eight million by 2050, according to a report published in the Washington-based SAIS Review of International Affairs in 2017.

Improving living standards for many households also mean that more residents are showering and washing cars than ever before.

A lack of public awareness about water conservation and no restrictions on its usage mean much of it is wasted.

While they try to work out how to replenish the city's subterranean reserves, authorities are using a television campaign and the influence of religious leaders to encourage households to save water.

"In our Friday sermons, we call on the faithful not to waste water," says Abdul Raouf, a member of the Ulema Council, the country's highest religious body.

As they wait for the first winter snow in the city, worshippers also pray "for this drought to end as soon as possible".

Even the Taliban are on board, issuing a statement to followers to "pray for rain".

Quick fix

Authorities are not waiting for divine intervention to fix Kabul's water problem.

With droughts, like the one affecting swathes of Afghanistan this year, expected to increase in severity and frequency as a result of climate change, a long-term solution is needed.

Options being explored by the ADB include "spreading basins" -- large ponds that trap rainwater long enough for it to seep into the soil and recharge aquifers.

The ADB is also looking at using "pumps to inject the water directly into" the basins and the construction of a dam on the outskirts of Kabul.

"The answer is not in one technology but in a mixture," Campbell says.

"Kabul is under a situation of water stress, so we're looking for a solution with lower impact, lower cost technology that could fix the problem quickly."

That would be welcome news to Kochi, who cannot hide his relief as water gushes out his new well. He knows the borehole could dry up again soon.

"We have survived revolution and civil wars, the Taliban regime and suicide attacks, but this water shortage may force us to leave," Kochi says.

"There is no life without water."

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