Quetta’s Groundwater Drops to 1,400 Feet as Manchar Lake Faces Ecological Collapse, Warns SC Water Commission Chairman
thefridaynews 
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s escalating water crisis has reached a critical threshold, with groundwater levels in Quetta plunging to a dangerous 1,400 feet and Sindh’s historic Manchar Lake nearing complete ecological collapse due to unchecked industrial pollution and severe management delays.Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club Islamabad, Chairman of the Water Conservation Commission (Supreme Court of Pakistan), Professor Dr. Muhammad Ahsan Siddiqui, presented key findings, structural observations, and urgent policy recommendations:Crisis in Balochistan & Manchar LakeQuetta Water Depletion: Groundwater levels in Quetta have dropped to ~1,400 feet, fulfilling warnings issued 25 years ago. The crisis has forced local farmers to uproot decade-old orchards to preserve basic drinking water for future generations.Manchar Lake Rehabilitation: Historical contamination (TDS levels previously at 5,750 ppm, reduced to 688 ppm in 2024) caused severe public health emergencies. Immediate completion of the long-delayed Right Bank Outfall Drain-II (RBOD-II) project is required to permanently divert toxic effluent to the sea.Revenue Allocation: Water tax proceeds should be directed immediately toward dedicated public water supply projects for Quetta and adjacent arid regions.Corporate Compliance & Environmental PerformanceIndustrial Wastewater Discharges: Despite operational guidelines, major beverage manufacturers continue massive monthly discharges—Coca-Cola releases 255 million liters per month (equivalent to the daily requirement for 8.5 million people), while Nestlé discharges 100 million liters per month (equivalent to 3.3 million people).Corporate Non-Compliance & Audits: Following the Supreme Court’s 2018 mandate on royalty payouts, a forensic audit is recommended for Nestlé Pakistan, PepsiCo Pakistan, and Coca-Cola Pakistan for 2025 to verify financial transfers. Additionally, Coca-Cola has remained non-compliant since 2023, barring Commission site inspections despite prior water-saving milestones.Imposition of Water Charges: Legal consensus resulted in a rate of PKR 1 per liter on ground/surface water extraction, though corporate entities continue to pursue review petitions challenging the levy.Commission Achievements & Proposed ExpansionWater & Resource Conservation: Between 2019 and 2025, the Commission facilitated the conservation of 54.7 billion liters of natural water resources (valuing PKR 54.7 billion), lowered the average Water Utilization Ratio (WUR) from 6.8 to 1.4, planted 1.9 million trees, and recovered approximately PKR 7 billion in water taxes.Infrastructure & Capacity Building: Designed and installed treatment plants across 31 distinct industrial facilities, established 12 mobile testing laboratories in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and conducted over 1,200 environmental compliance training sessions.Scope Expansion Request: The Commission respectfully seeks Supreme Court approval under the Order dated 06.12.2018 to extend oversight to additional high-consumption sectors—including Sugar, Cement, Pulp & Paper, Textile, Power Generation, and Oils & Fats. Expanding coverage will generate hundreds of billions in tax revenues for natural resource preservation.
