RAWALPINDI: The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has approved three major projects worth around Rs5 billion to improve groundwater levels, install new water meters and upgrade drainage and sewerage systems in 41 WASA-controlled cities across Punjab.
The Punjab government has also appointed project heads to ensure the schemes are launched on a full scale and completed quickly.
Senior BS-20 officer and Managing Director WASA Lahore Ghufran Ahmed has been appointed Project Director of the Punjab Development Programme-II for WASA. He will hold this as an additional charge and will continue to work as MD WASA.
Under this programme, new drainage and sewerage systems will be designed and installed in 34 newly established WASA cities.
The project has already started in 16 WASAs during the first phase, while work in the remaining cities will begin immediately after Eid. Authorities have also started preparing design maps for sanitation and drainage networks.
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Senior BS-19 officer Imran Qureshi, Director Engineering, has been appointed Project Director of the Recharge Wells Project, which aims to improve falling groundwater levels.
Another BS-19 officer, Shazil Waqar, has been appointed Project Director for the Water Meters Installation Project.
Under this project, modern water meters, similar to electricity and gas meters, will be installed in all WASA cities across Punjab.
Officials said the installation of water meters will help stop water theft and end illegal connections. Each consumer will get a separate modern meter and will pay a monthly bill according to water usage.
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Under the recharge wells project, steps will be taken to send rainwater underground during the monsoon and rainy season. Open spaces near parks, offices, plazas and roads will be kept available so rainwater can seep into the ground instead of being wasted through drains.
Authorities said modern methods will be used to send rainwater into the ground quickly and improve the natural recharge of underground water.
The project has already been successfully launched in Lahore.
Officials said groundwater levels in Lahore have dropped beyond 700 feet and are still falling due to drought, low rainfall, fewer open soil areas, and the increasing use of tube wells in both public and private sectors.
Authorities have also decided that future water supply will gradually be shifted towards surface water from dams and rivers instead of depending mainly on groundwater extracted through tube wells.
