majority of the people in the country are relying on the groundwater, unearthed
through motor and hand pump. This ratio is 60% in urban and almost 70% in rural
areas. The issue of over population in urban areas has increased the demand for the
drinking, and most of the habitants are conntected to private water suppliers. A study
conducted by Hamid et al. (2013) has examined the performance of WASA in the
capital city of Punjab: Lahore. They have examined the physicochemical elements
and found that the level of arsenic and fluoride is above the national set standards and
WHO limits. In addition, it is found that water lines from some points are mixed with
the sewerage lines because of the existence of coliform in the selected sample.
6.3 Steps by the Government to Control Water
Contamination
For the last couple of years, Government of Pakistan is trying to develop various
strategies to control water pollution in the country; for instance, the introduction of
water policy and related mechanism for the usage of all types of water and repair of
infrastructure, etc. The plan to develop the water policy at the national level was
initially proposed in the year 2015, and point of focus is to protect the drinking water
for the citizens (Kiani 2015). In addition, due to this policy, first-time policy makers
have realized that water is among the scarce resources and can only cover the specific
demand. So, the focus of the policy is to manage the water demand with the control
of population growth as well. Besides, under this policy, it is promised that safe and
clean drinking water will be provided to the entire population: urban and rural (Kiani
2015).
To control the increasing threat of water contamination in Pakistan, various
strategies are available which needs serious attention from the Government. At
first, the legislative control provides an overall framework to control this threat. In
Pakistan, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) is directly responsible for the
quality of water and development of relevant standards. Drinking water standards are
established which include key parameters, standard values, World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, and final remarks. Meanwhile, color of drinking water
(<15 TCU/Hazen Units.), taste and odor with turbidity (below 5 NTU), pH
(6.5–8.5), chemical parameters for aluminum (less than 0.2 mg/L), antimony
(<0.005 mg/L), arsenic ( to 0.05 mg/L), barium (proposed to be 0.7 mg/L), and
boron (0.3 mg/L) as per WHO guidelines (Ministry of Environment 2008). Although
these set standards are very much effective to a gradual improvement, these standards are still missing which show poor management of drinking water by the
relevant authorities. For the sustainability of the water, steps are also taken at the
provincial level. For instance, in the city of Lahore, a rule has been passed for
Sunday not to wash the cars by the individuals to control the water conservation. At
recent time, Chief Minister of Punjab has established a program under the title of
“Punjab Saaf Pani” and has established 80 water filtration plants in south Punjab by
78
H. W. Kamran and A. Omran
through motor and hand pump. This ratio is 60% in urban and almost 70% in rural
areas. The issue of over population in urban areas has increased the demand for the
drinking, and most of the habitants are conntected to private water suppliers. A study
conducted by Hamid et al. (2013) has examined the performance of WASA in the
capital city of Punjab: Lahore. They have examined the physicochemical elements
and found that the level of arsenic and fluoride is above the national set standards and
WHO limits. In addition, it is found that water lines from some points are mixed with
the sewerage lines because of the existence of coliform in the selected sample.
6.3 Steps by the Government to Control Water
Contamination
For the last couple of years, Government of Pakistan is trying to develop various
strategies to control water pollution in the country; for instance, the introduction of
water policy and related mechanism for the usage of all types of water and repair of
infrastructure, etc. The plan to develop the water policy at the national level was
initially proposed in the year 2015, and point of focus is to protect the drinking water
for the citizens (Kiani 2015). In addition, due to this policy, first-time policy makers
have realized that water is among the scarce resources and can only cover the specific
demand. So, the focus of the policy is to manage the water demand with the control
of population growth as well. Besides, under this policy, it is promised that safe and
clean drinking water will be provided to the entire population: urban and rural (Kiani
2015).
To control the increasing threat of water contamination in Pakistan, various
strategies are available which needs serious attention from the Government. At
first, the legislative control provides an overall framework to control this threat. In
Pakistan, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) is directly responsible for the
quality of water and development of relevant standards. Drinking water standards are
established which include key parameters, standard values, World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, and final remarks. Meanwhile, color of drinking water
(<15 TCU/Hazen Units.), taste and odor with turbidity (below 5 NTU), pH
(6.5–8.5), chemical parameters for aluminum (less than 0.2 mg/L), antimony
(<0.005 mg/L), arsenic ( to 0.05 mg/L), barium (proposed to be 0.7 mg/L), and
boron (0.3 mg/L) as per WHO guidelines (Ministry of Environment 2008). Although
these set standards are very much effective to a gradual improvement, these standards are still missing which show poor management of drinking water by the
relevant authorities. For the sustainability of the water, steps are also taken at the
provincial level. For instance, in the city of Lahore, a rule has been passed for
Sunday not to wash the cars by the individuals to control the water conservation. At
recent time, Chief Minister of Punjab has established a program under the title of
“Punjab Saaf Pani” and has established 80 water filtration plants in south Punjab by
78
H. W. Kamran and A. Omran