The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) launched a project worth Rs 27 million here on Friday for 'Impact Assessment of Sewerage and Industrial Effluents on Human Health, Water Resources and Agricultural Productivity'.
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) will execute the project.
Under the project, a survey will be carried out for collection and analysis of samples of industrial effluents along with existing status of waste water disposal and management.
The project will be implemented in Faisalabad through PCRWR Lahore and Islamabad centres to achieve desired objectives.
Ministry of Science and Technology will devise a viable mitigation plan for treatment and management of industrial effluents for safe environment through this unique project.
Pakistan once a water surplus country due to huge water resources of the Indus River, is now water deficit country.
The annual per capita water availability in the country has decreased from 5,300 cubic metres to 1,100 cubic metres over last 50 years which is internationally classified as chronic water stress conditions.
Meanwhile, the gap between demand and supply of water has increased to such levels which are creating unrest among the federating units.
The worst drought during the recent years further aggravated the water availability situation in Pakistan. Besides quantitative issues, water quality is also becoming a serious issue especially in industrialised and urban localities.
The mismanagement of sewerage and industrial effluent is a major contributor to water quality deterioration.
Estimates show that local annual potential of 15 main cities of the country is over 2.1 million acre-feet (MAF). Presently it is being disposed of directly into streams and rivers, which is not only polluting the fresh water bodies, both surface and groundwater, but is also resulting in wastage of water sources.
It has been reported that 88 percent of drinking water from Chah Kalalanwala and Kot Asadullah Khan, 40 percent from village Talab Sarai and Sham Ki Bhattian and 4 percent of villages of Sargodha district contain high fluorides than the recommended levels which have resulted in physical/mental disorders particularly in infants.
It is also estimated that 30 percent of reported cases of illness and 40 percent of all deaths in Pakistan are attributed to waterborne diseases.
Around 82,000 cases of water-related diseases were registered in Basic Health Units (BHUs) of Rawalpindi Division during the period of last one year.
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