LAHORE:
Great concrete lahore stripes have been covered, preventing rainwater from recharging underground aquifers naturally, which are rapidly exhausted.
According to the Irrigation Research Institute, instead of recharging 10-15 acres-water water, only 1.5 million liters were reloaded artificially through the recharge wells during the current monsoon, while the rest was exhausted in sewers and drains.
Dr. Zakir Hussain Siyal, general director of the Institute, told The Express PAkGazette that, due to insufficient recharge, Lahore’s groundwater level is falling quickly from 1 to 4 feet annually in different areas.
In Gulberg, the water table fell from 125 to 300 feet, while in other areas it has sunk 150 feet.
Drinking water is now as deep as 700-800 feet and even deeper in some places, with much of the Soper Salobre water. To counteract this, the department has installed 70 recharge wells, but the results remain inappropriate.
With 1,500-1,800 tube wells that work throughout the day in Lahore, the extraction of groundwater far exceeds. Dr. Siyal emphasized the urgent need for artificial recharge systems, underground dams and rainwater collection through green belts, land and galleries.
“Without large -scale recharge projects in schools, schools, universities, housing and offices societies, the underground water level will reach dangerously low levels,” he said.
Artificial recharge systems are designed methods used to replace underground aquifers directing excess surface water, such as storm runoff or treated wastewater, on the ground through recharge wells, infiltration basins or percolation tanks.
These systems improve the availability of groundwater, reduce the risk of land sinking and help administer water resources more sustainably in areas that face exhaustion.
Underground dams are barriers built under the soil surface to block the natural flow of groundwater, which allows it to accumulate and create a hidden tank.
The rainwater harvest, on the other hand, is the practice of collecting and storing rainwater from the roofs, paved areas or open basins for later use. Stored water can be used for irrigation, domestic needs or aquifer rechargers, reducing municipal supply dependence.
