Water supply and sanitation in Pakistan

Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... : Water and Sanitation

Data
Water coverage (broad definition)	91% (2004)
Sanitation coverage (broad definition)	59% (2004)
Continuity of supply (%)	Mostly intermittent in urban areas
Average urban water use (l/c/d)	Karachi: 197 (2001)
Average urban water tariff (US$/m³)	Karachi: 0.13
Share of household metering	Low
Annual investment in WSS	Scheduled: US$2.66 per capita (2005–2010)
Share of self-financing by utilities	Low
Share of tax-financing	n/a
Share of external financing	n/a
Institutions
Decentralization to municipalities	Yes, since 2001
National water and sanitation company	None
Water and sanitation regulator	None
Responsibility for policy setting	Ministry of Environment and provincial governments
Sector law	None
Number of urban service providers	n/a
Number of rural service providers	n/a

Water supply and sanitation in Pakistan is characterized by some achievements and many challenges. Despite high population growth the country has increased the share of the population with access to an improved water source from 86% in 1990 to 90% in 2006, and the share with access to improved sanitation from 33% to 58% during the same period according to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation. There has also been considerable innovation at the grass-root level, in particular concerning sanitation. The Orangi Pilot Project

Orangi Pilot Project

The Orangi Pilot Project refers to a socially innovative project carried out in 1980s in the squatter areas of Orangi Town, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was initiated by Akhtar Hameed Khan, and involved the local residents solving their own sanitation problems...

in Karachi and community-led total sanitation in rural areas are two examples of such innovation.

However, the sector still faces major challenges. The quality of the services is poor, as evidenced by intermittent water supply in urban areas and limited wastewater treatment

Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment may refer to:* Sewage treatment* Industrial wastewater treatment...

. Poor drinking water quality and sanitation lead to major outbreaks of waterborne diseases

Waterborne diseases

Waterborne diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms which are directly transmitted when contaminated fresh water is consumed. Contaminated fresh water, used in the preparation of food, can be the source of foodborne disease through consumption of the same microorganisms...

. In addition, many service providers do not even cover the costs of operation and maintenance due to low tariffs and poor efficiency. Consequently, the service providers strongly depend on government subsidies and external funding.

These problems are partly a result of a policy focus on irrigation, which prevailed in the Pakistani water policy for decades. This has changed to some extent since the Medium Term Development Framework 2005-2010 was passed. The framework provides for about US$404 million per year for water supply and sanitation and is accompanied by several policy documents with the objective to notably improve water and sanitation coverage and quality. However, the level of annual investment investment (US$4/capita) still remains much below what would be necessary to achieve a significant increase in access and service quality.

Access

In Pakistan, according to the Joint Monitoring Program of the World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

and UNICEF, access in Pakistan to an improved water source

Improved water source

According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" water sources:* household connections* public standpipes* boreholes* protected dug wells...

increased from 83% in 1990 to 91% in 2004. In the same time, improved sanitation

Improved sanitation

According to the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" sanitation:* connection to a public sewer* connection to a septic system* pour-flush latrine...

coverage increased from 37% to 59% (see table 1).

Table 1: Access to Water and Sanitation in Pakistan (2004)
		Urban (34% of the population)	Rural (66% of the population)	Total
Water	Broad definition Improved water source According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" water sources:* household connections* public standpipes* boreholes* protected dug wells...	96%	89%	91%
Water	House connections	49%	15%	27%
Sanitation	Broad definition Improved sanitation According to the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" sanitation:* connection to a public sewer* connection to a septic system* pour-flush latrine...	92%	41%	59%
Sanitation	Sewerage	40%	6%	18%

Given these figures, the MDGs concerning water and sanitation, which give the target of halving the share of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015, compared to 1990 are very likely to be reached. The United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...

assumes that concerning urban and rural water supply as well as urban sanitation, the targets will be achieved prematurely, whereas rural sanitation progress is classified to be "on track". However, the Government of Pakistan relies on other figures. According to the federal government, in 2005 66% of the total population had access to an improved water source, defined as pipe

Water pipe

Water pipes are pipes or tubes, frequently made of polyvinyl chloride , ductile iron, steel, cast iron, polypropylene, polyethylene, or copper, that carry pressurized and treated fresh water to buildings , as well as inside the building.-History:For many centuries, lead was the favoured material...

and hand pump

Hand pump

Hand pumps are manually operated pumps; they use human power and mechanical advantage to move fluids or air from one place to another. They are widely used in every country in the world for a variety of industrial, marine, irrigation and leisure activities...

water.

According to the National Drinking Water Policy (NDWP), Pakistan's goal is to provide universal access to drinking water in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner by 2025. At the same time, the National Sanitation Policy aims to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...

concerning sanitation by 2015 and to serve the total population with improved sanitation by 2025.

Service quality

Water supply service quality is often inappropriate in Pakistan. One document criticizes the MDG's methodology of only taking into account coverage figures, without attention to adequate service quality, which may not be given in all cases.

Continuity of supply

Intermittent water supply is common in urban areas. For Pakistani cities, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...

indicates continuity rates of 1 to 10 hours (Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

), 11 to 15 hours (Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...

) and 16 to 23 hours (Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

) per day. During a 2005 workshop, similar figures were reported except for Rawalpindi for which a shorter duration of only 8 hours was reported (see Table 3). Consequently, consumers use on-site storage mechanisms like ground or roof tanks

Water tank

A Water tank is a container for storing water. The need for a water tank is as old as civilized man, providing storage of water for drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemical manufacturing, food preparation as well as many...

, or they purchase water from lorry tankers or use shallow wells and rivers. Many privately operated lorry tankers are licensed by water utilities and benefit from the discontinuous water supply.

Table 2: Hours of water supply per day in major Pakistani cities
Karachi Karachi Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...	Lahore Lahore Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...	Faisalabad Faisalabad Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...	Rawalpindi Rawalpindi Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...	Multan Multan Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...	Peshawar Peshawar Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
4	17	8	8	8	9

Drinking water quality

Generally, water pressure is low in Pakistani supply systems. Together with leaky pipes, this has led to infiltration of contaminated water. As a result of sewage

Sewage

Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...

and industrial waste

Industrial waste

Industrial waste is a type of waste produced by industrial activity, such as that of factories, mills and mines. It has existed since the outset of the industrial revolution....

, which leaked into drinking water through damaged pipes, major outbreaks of waterborne disease epidemics swept the cities of Faisalabad

Faisalabad

Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...

, Karachi

Karachi

, Lahore

Lahore

and Peshawar

Peshawar

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

in 2006. Estimates indicate that each year, more than three million Pakistanis become infected with waterborne diseases. In several areas, increased arsenic

Arsenic

Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...

, nitrate

Nitrate

The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...

and fluoride

Fluoride

Fluoride is the anion F−, the reduced form of fluorine when as an ion and when bonded to another element. Both organofluorine compounds and inorganic fluorine containing compounds are called fluorides. Fluoride, like other halides, is a monovalent ion . Its compounds often have properties that are...

contamination was detected in drinking water.

Wastewater treatment

The Pakistani Ministry of Water and Power reported in 2002 that only 1% of the domestic and industrial wastewater

Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...

receives treatment. According to the Pakistan Water Situational Analysis, there are three wastewater treatment plants in Islamabad, of which only one is functional. Karachi has two trickling filter

Trickling filter

A trickling filter consists of a fixed bed of rocks, lava, coke, gravel, slag, polyurethane foam, sphagnum peat moss, ceramic, or plastic media over which sewage or other wastewater flows downward and causes a layer of microbial slime to grow, covering the bed of media...

s, where effluents generally receive screening and sedimentation

Sedimentation (water treatment)

Sedimentation is a physical water treatment process used to settle out suspended solids in water under the influence of gravity.-Basics:Suspended solids , is the mass of dry solids retained by a filter of a given porosity related to the volume of the water sample...

. Lahore has some screening and grit removal systems, but they are hardly functional. In Faisalabad, there is a wastewater treatment plant

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

, in which wastewater receives primary treatment. In rural areas, wastewater treatment is nonexistent, leading to pollution of surface and groundwater.

History

After Pakistan's independence in 1947, national water policies were defined in the government's five-year plans, which were replaced by a ten-year plan in 2001. Given the economic impact of the agricultural sector in the country, the plans were mainly focused on irrigation instead of rural and urban water supply. In the particular cases, the first and second five-year plans emphasized the increasing application of water for increasing productivity and control of waterlogging

Waterlogging

Waterlogging or water logging may refer to:* Waterlogging , saturation of the soil by groundwater sufficient to prevent or hinder agriculture...

and salinity

Salinity

Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...

, which together with water conservation

Water conservation

Water conservation refers to reducing the usage of water and recycling of waste water for different purposes such as cleaning, manufacturing, and agricultural irrigation.- Water conservation :Water conservation can be defined as:...

continued to be an element of the third and fourth five-year plans. The fifth, sixth and seventh plans dealt with water management

Water management

Water management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources. In an ideal world. water management planning has regard to all the competing demands for water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to satisfy all uses and demands...

, the reduction of water losses and increased user participation in the improvement of watercourses. The eighth and last plan provided for the formation of farmer organizations and decentralization of water management through Area Water Boards. However, the plans have not always been implemented accordingly.

The existing water supply and sanitation facilities are mostly the product of a top-down approach, usually constructed by the Public Health Engineering Departments (PHEDs) and in many cases expensive and difficult to maintain for local communities. Hygiene education and user participation were neglected until 1992, when the federal government launched the Social Action Plan, which suggested various policy reforms concerning water supply and sanitation. This included user participation, hygiene promotion and low-cost technologies.

Recent developments

Until the 21st century, Pakistani water sector policies were mainly focused on water resources and irrigation. This has changed with the National Drinking Water Policy (NDWP), the National Sanitation Policy (NSP) and the Clean Drinking Water for All Programme, which were prepared by the Ministry of Environment as integral parts of the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) 2005-2010. The MTDF provides about US$2 billion (120 billion rupee

Pakistani rupee

The rupee is the currency of Pakistan. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of the country. The most commonly used symbol for the rupee is Rs, used on receipts when purchasing goods and services. In Pakistan, the rupee is referred to as the...

) for water and sanitation schemes. In addition, a Safe Drinking Water Act will be adopted under the MTDF to ensure compliance with the Pakistan Drinking Water Quality Standards. A major shift of sector responsibility took place under the 2001 Local Government Ordinance.

Local Government Ordinance of 2001

Until the 2001 Local Government Ordinance (LGO), the PHED has been responsible for the development and maintenance of water and sanitation services in rural areas, whereas in urban areas services were provided by Development Authorities and Water and Sanitation Authorities (WASAs). Under the LGO, three tiers of local governments were created, namely

120 District
Districts of Pakistan
The Districts of Pakistan are the second order administrative divisions of Pakistan. Districts were the third order of administrative divisions, below provinces and "divisions", until the reforms of August 2000, when "divisions" were abolished...

,
about 500 Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

s, and
about 5,000 local governments governed by Union Councils of Pakistan
Union Councils of Pakistan
A sherwan or village council in Pakistan is an elected local government body consisting of 21 councillors, and headed by a nazim and a naib nazim...

.

The responsibility for water supply and sanitation was nominally devolved to Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs), the second-lowest tier of local government in Pakistan, comparable to counties

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

or sub-districts. The PHED was supposed to be merged into the Provincial Local Government Department. The staff was supposed to be devolved at the TMA level. However, the decentralization has not been implemented in all areas. In 2008, it was reported that PHEDs were still active in water supply development, operation and maintenance, particularly in areas where the schemes spread across more than one tehsil. In those cases, the PHEDs usually develop supply-driven schemes with little or no participation of TMAs. In addition, the devolution took place differently from one province top another. According to a 2003 document, the PHED remains fully functional in the Balochistan Province and in the Punjab Province

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

, and local government powers were recentralized.

National Sanitation Policy of 2006

The National Sanitation Policy (NSP), approved by the federal government in 2006, promotes the grassroots concept of community-led total sanitation (CLTS)

Community-led total sanitation

Community-led Total Sanitation is an innovative methodology for mobilising communities to completely eliminate open defecation . Communities are facilitated to conduct their own appraisal and analysis of open defecation and take their own action to become ODF .At the heart of CLTS lies the...

in communities with less than 1,000 inhabitants. In larger communities, the NSP promotes a "component sharing model", under which sewage and wastewater treatment facilities are provided by the communities in the case that local government developed disposal is not available. The objective is the safe disposal of excreta through the use of latrine

Latrine

A latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...

s, the creation of an "open defecation free environment", safe disposal of liquid and solid waste and the promotion of health and hygiene

Hygiene

Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...

practices. The federal government provides incentives for the implementation of the NSP in the form of rewards for open defecation-free tehsils/towns, 100% sanitation coverage tehsils/towns, the cleanest tehsils/towns and the cleanest industrial estates or clusters. Participating stakeholders include government institutions, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)

Community organization

Community organizations are civil society non-profits that operate within a single local community. They are essentially a subset of the wider group of nonprofits. Like other nonprofits they are often run on a voluntary basis and are self funded...

, communities, individual households and the electronic and print media.

National Drinking Water Policy (NDWP) of 2009

In September 2009 the government approved the National Drinking Water Policy that aims at providing safe drinking water to the entire Pakistani population by 2025, including the poor and vulnerable at an affordable cost. A main objective is a clearer segregation between the functions of service provision and regulation. The right to water for drinking precedes all other uses, like industrial or agricultural water use. Women are recognized as main actors of domestic water supply, and their active participation in the sector is sought. In accordance with the LGO, the document highlights the responsibility of local governments to provide drinking water. The policy is expected to be reviewed and updated every five years to examine its implementation and efficacy and to adapt it to the changing situation in the country.

Clean Drinking Water for All Programme

The Clean Drinking Water for All Programme/Clean Drinking Water Initiative aim to improve the quality of drinking water by building water treatment facilities.

The US$8.2 million Clean Drinking Water Initiative, approved in 2004, provides for the construction of 445 water purification

Water purification

Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...

plants of 2,000 gallons per hour in all Pakistani tehsils The Ministry of Environment is to "provide the technical support to the provinces by installing various plants at selected places on turn key basis and then handing it over to local municipal administration." The plants would be installed in "public places", which together with the limited capacity of the plants suggests that the purified water is not to be used for network supply, but rather for distribution as bottled water. The much larger US$168 million Clean Drinking Water for All Programme aims at delivering one purification plant to each Pakistani Union Council. The plants are expected to be maintained through contracting out for three subsequent years. It is estimated that one purification plant will serve 2-20% of each Union Council's population, which on average have 20,000 inhabitants. Under the programme, the establishment of 6,035 purification plants with capacities of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 gallons per hour is planned.

In January 2009 USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the "Ministry of Special Initiatives" to support the programme with US$17.9 million, anticipating that over 31 million Pakistanis in 40 districts will benefit from it.

The German companies Siemens

Siemens

Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...

and KSB won contracts under the programme to install purification plants in Punjab.

The Programme generated criticism when it was learned that inadequate planning may threaten to halt the entire programme. Furthermore, there have been allegations of conflict of interest by certain persons who, although occupying highest government offices, had formed private companies to win the installation contract from the Government. Taking cognizance of this, the Government of the Punjab has expressed its serious reservations against the project and has even suggested that it be halted until proper planning and siting of plants can take place.

Responsibility for water supply and sanitation

Policy and regulation

Drinking water and sanitation policy is the constitutional responsibility of provincial governments. However, the federal government is involved in policy development and guidelines setting, mostly through the Ministry of Environment. A National Drinking Water and Sanitation Committee was established in 2009 to implement both the National Sanitation Policy and the National Drinking Water Policy. There is no independent regulatory agency in the sector.

The Ministry of Health is expected to set water quality standards and monitor drinking water quality in the country. Poor coordination between the ministry and other authorities have been reported. The Health Services Academy under the Ministry of Health published Quality Drinking Water Standards for Pakistan in May 2007. It should be noted that these standards were not officially implemented and monitored in 2008.

Service provision

Since the 2001 Local Government Ordinance, water supply and sanitation services are expected to be delivered by the newly created Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) (see above). At the same time, responsibilities for coordination and joint implementation across TMAs were devolved to District

Districts of Pakistan

The Districts of Pakistan are the second order administrative divisions of Pakistan. Districts were the third order of administrative divisions, below provinces and "divisions", until the reforms of August 2000, when "divisions" were abolished...

Governments, including City District Governments in the largest cities and Common Districts. However, as indicated above constant challenges in the transition period were reported and provincial Public Health and Engineering Departments (PHEDs) continue to provide water services, especially in rural areas.

In urban areas, local governments have formed public sector water boards or, in the case of the City District Governments, a total of seven Water and Sanitation Agencies (WASAs). In Karachi, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) under the local government provides the services.

NGOs are particularly active in sanitation, and have reached some notable achievements. Under the National Drinking Water and Sanitation Policies, the participation of NGOs and the private sector is encouraged.

Innovative approaches

A number of innovative sanitation approaches have been piloted in Pakistan. These include participatory sanitation infrastructure projects - such as the Orangi Pilot Project

Orangi Pilot Project

in urban slums in the 1980s and the Lodhran Pilot Project in rural areas since 1999 - as well as Community-led total sanitation (CLTS)

Community-led total sanitation

projects implemented since 2003.

Orangi Pilot Project

Orangi is a large informal low-income settlement located in Karachi and place of a user participation success story. The Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) was initiated by an NGO under Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan

Akhtar Hameed Khan

Akhtar Hameed Khan was a Pakistani development activist and social scientist credited for pioneering microcredit and microfinance initiatives, farmers' cooperatives, and rural training programmes in the developing world. He promoted participatory rural development in Pakistan and other developing...

in 1980 in order to improve the poor sanitation conditions through a low-cost sanitation program with active user participation. A main feature of the project is the component sharing model. The first component is responsibility of the communities, which receive technical assistance. The community develops and constructs primary household sanitary latrines, underground sewers and neighborhood collector sewers. Those are connected to main sewers and treatment plants, which form the second component and are constructed with public funds. The OPP was very successful and about 100,000 households have developed their own sanitation systems in Orangi. The project was replicated by NGOs and CBOs in other Pakistani cities. The component sharing model is encouraged under the 2006 National Sanitation Policy.

Lodhran Pilot Project

Inspired by the OPP, a pilot project emerged in Lodhran District

Lodhran District

Lodhran is a district in the Punjab, Pakistan, located on the northern side of River Sutlej. It is bounded to the north by the districts of Multan, Khanewal and Vehari, to the south by Bahawalpur District, to the east lie the districts of Vehari and Bahawalpur; while district Multan lies on the...

in 1999. The project follows a low cost, community owned rural sanitation model based on a participatory approach. In 2004, the Lodhran Pilot Project (LPP) received a US$1.1 million grant by the World Bank-administered Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) to expand the model in 100 villages in Southern Punjab. Under the grant, TMAs receive technical assistance concerning public private partnerships, training and capacity building and communication.

Community-led total sanitation (CLTS)

In Pakistan, the concept of Community-led total sanitation (CLTS)

Community-led total sanitation

was first introduced as a pilot project in Mardan District

Mardan District

Mardan is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The city of Mardan is the headquarters of the district. The district also contains the famous archaeological site of Takht Bhai, Jamal Ghari and Sawal Dher.-Administration:...

in the North West Frontier Province in 2003 by the local NGO IRSP (Integrated Regional Support Program) together with UNICEF. A main objective of the concept is to create open defecation free villages through behavioral change in the whole community, rather than to construct sanitation facilities for individual households. Since then, CLTS has spread rapidly in the whole country and became a main feature of the National Sanitation Policy, which provides financial rewards for defined outcomes. Development agencies began to link their funding and incentives to theopen defecation free status. For example, the Khushal Pakistan Fund has allocated about US$200 million (12 billion Pakistani rupees) to community infrastructure projects in open defecation free communities.

In addition, several organizations like Plan Pakistan and WaterAid

WaterAid

WaterAid is an international non-profit organisation set up as a response to the UN International Drinking Water & Sanitation decade . WaterAid is dedicated to helping people escape the poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. It is based in London, England and was...

have integrated CLTS in their strategies and projects. CLTS projects were active in all four Pakistani regions in 2007. NGOs were implementing CLTS in about 20 districts in 2008. At the same time, more than 130 defecation free villages already existed in Pakistan.

Through CLTS more than 1,500 villages achieved "open defecation free status" by 2009. This figure is expected to reach 15,000 villages by June 2011, covering a third of the rural population of Pakistan. An assessment of CLTS pilots in nine villages showed that open defecation stopped, but communities used unimproved and unhygienic latrines making any substantial effort to upgrade or replace damaged latrines.

Efficiency

There is little evidence concerning efficiency in the Pakistani water supply and sanitation sector. However, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...

prepared a document, which includes the respective data for the cities of Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore. Furthermore, data from six major cities were reported during a 2005 workshop in Karachi.

Non-revenue water

The share of non-revenue water (NRW)

Non-revenue water

Non revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses or apparent losses . High levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself...

, water which is produced but not billed due to several reasons like leakage and illegal connections is estimated at 35% in urban areas. The ADB reported an amount of 30% NRW in Rawalpindi and Karachi, and 42% in Lahore. As indicated in table 3, officials from major Pakistani cities reported a higher share of NRW during a 2005 workshop, ranging from 40% to 50%. There is no agreement on appropriate levels of NRW among professionals. However, Tynan and Kingdom propose a best practice

Best practice

A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...

target of 23% in developing countries.

Labor productivity

There are no updated and precise figures for labor productivity, measured in employees per 1,000 connections. However, the Ministry of Power and Environment indicated a poor performance in the country's major cities. The ADB found an average of 5.6 employees per 1,000 connections in Karachi. In Lahore and Rawalpindi, labor productivity is indicated lower at 9.5 and 12.7 employees per 1,000 connections, respectively. At the 2005 workshop, between 6 and 27 employees per 1,000 connections in major cities were reported (see table 3). Tynan and Kingdom propose a best practice target of 5 employees per 1,000 connections in developing countries. However it should be mentioned that equally to NRW, this target is a suggestion of the authors, which is not established as official best practice target among professionals.^{[broken footnote]}

Table 3: Indicators of efficiency in major Pakistani cities
	Karachi	Lahore	Faisalabad	Rawalpindi	Multan	Peshawar
NRW	45%	40%	40%	45%	40%	50%
Staff per 1,000 connections	6	12	10	11	27	14

Tariffs and cost recovery

Low tariffs, together with poor collection efficiency and overstaffing cause that many urban utilities do not cover the costs for operation and maintenance (O&M). The ADB found typical domestic tariffs of US$0.13 per m³ in Karachi and US$0.25 in Lahore (fixed charges excluded). The Ministry of Power and Water reported in 2002 that in smaller cities and towns part of the O&M costs had been financed with local taxes until recently. The National Drinking Water Policy calls for appropriate user charges, increased cost recovery and cross subsidies. Tariffs are supposed to become differentiated according to the income situation of the respective city and town areas.

Investment and financing

The sector strongly depends on internal and external financing. The Ministry of Power and Water reported in 2002 that in recent years, 49% of the total new investments in the water sector had been financed by external loans and 43% by the government. The MTDF recognizes that with 0.25% of its total GDP, Pakistan's investment in the water supply and sanitation sector is inadequate and provides for US$2 billion (120 billion rupee) or US$404 million per year for the sector from 2005 to 2010, half of which is to be paid by the federal and provincial governments, including the construction and rehabilitation of water supply schemes in urban and rural areas and wastewater treatment plants in provincial capitals. The other half is expected to be provided by the private sector and includes water supply systems, sewerage networks and wastewater treatment as part of new housing schemes in cities and towns.

External cooperation

The sector receives much support from development partners, among them the Asian Development Bank

Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...

(ADB), Japan, the United States and the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

Asian Development Bank

In December 2008 the Asian Development Bank

Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...

(ADB) approved a $300 million loan for the Sindh Cities Improvement Investment Program, which aims at improving water supply, wastewater, and solid waste management infrastructure in more than 20 secondary cities in the Province of Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

with more than six million inhabitants. The loan, in the form of a multitranche financing facility (MFF), will also support urban sector reforms - such as the establishment of local government-owned urban services corporations - and capacity development. The first tranche of $38 million (2009–2012) targets the northern Sindh cities of Sukkur

Sukkur

Sukkur, or Sakharu , formerly Aror and Bakar, is the third largest city of Sindh province, situated on the west bank of Indus River in Pakistan in Sukkur District. However, the word Sakharu in Sindhi means "superior", which the spelling of the city's name in Sindhi suggests is the origin of the...

, New Sukkur, Rohri

Rohri

Rohri is a town of Sukkur District, Sindh province, Pakistan. It is located at 27°40'60N 68°54'0E, on the east bank of the Indus River. Rohri town is the administrative headquarters of Rohri Taluka, a tehsil of Sukkur District with which it forms a metropolitan area...

, Khairpur, Shikarpur and Larkana

Larkana

Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...

.

Urban services in secondary cities in Sindh fall far short of targets for quality, continuity, and coverage. Only about half the urban population of Sindh, outside of Karachi, has piped water. Even then, the water quality is poor and often flows for only two to four hours a day. Sanitary drainage is extremely limited and sewer lines are often blocked. No sanitary landfills exist, which leads to solid waste being disposed of by burning or illegal dumping in open spaces or drainage channels, causing blockage and pollution.

The ADB also financed the Punjab Community Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project with US$50 million, which was active in rural villages in all districts of the Punjab province

Punjab (Pakistan)

from 2003 until the end of 2007. As a result, about 2.5 million additional people in 778 villages were provided with water supply and sanitation facilities with full cost recovery. CBOs maintain and operate the schemes and charge the users. Tehsil municipal administrations were strengthened and received training under the project. In addition, communities received training in health and hygiene practices and the construction of latrines. The project also established a link between the beneficiary communities and micro finance institutions, which have disbursed about US$4 million to about 15,000 borrowers in 617 communities.

Japan

Under the Metropolitan Water Supply Project (Khanpur I), implemented between 1994 and 2000, the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) contributed to the improvement of water supply in the Islamabad Metropolitan Area, including Rawalpindi. The total amount disbursed was US$109 million (12,442 million Yen). Among other things, water purification facilities with a capacity of 281,000 m³ per day, water supply facilities and water storage facilities were constructed to meet the increasing demand for water supply. JICA also supported a Master Plan for water Supply and sewerage in Karachi, completed as a final draft in 2008.

United States

In January 2009 USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the "Ministry of Special Initiatives" to support the programme with US$17.9 million, anticipating that over 31 million Pakistanis in 40 districts will benefit from it.

World Bank

Second Karachi Water Supply. Under the second Karachi Water Supply Project, the World Bank contributed with US$92 million to increase water supply coverage and sanitation in Karachi and to improve operation, management and financial viability of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB). The project started in 1993 and provided for the construction of a canal to bring water from the Indus River, pumping stations, water and wastewater treatment facilities. In low income areas, small bore sewers were to be built. The operational efficiency of KWSB was expected to improve through technical assistance by the World Bank and increased cost reduction measures, e.g. reduction of water losses.

Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Project. The World Bank contributed with US$137 million to the Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Project, which was active from 1991 to 2000 in the self-governing Pakistani state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Azad Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...

. The main objectives of the project were to improve rural productivity and health and reduce poverty and deprivation. The components of the project included the construction and rehabilitation of water supply and sanitation schemes, institutional strengthening and training, latrine construction materials accompanied by health education and promotion, water resources and sanitation studies and private sector support.

External links

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Access

Service quality

Continuity of supply

Drinking water quality

Wastewater treatment

History

Recent developments

Local Government Ordinance of 2001

National Sanitation Policy of 2006

National Drinking Water Policy (NDWP) of 2009

Clean Drinking Water for All Programme

Responsibility for water supply and sanitation

Policy and regulation

Service provision

Innovative approaches

Orangi Pilot Project

Lodhran Pilot Project

Community-led total sanitation (CLTS)

Efficiency

Non-revenue water

Labor productivity

Tariffs and cost recovery

Investment and financing

External cooperation

Asian Development Bank

Japan

United States

World Bank

See also

External links