Lahore – Every monsoon, heavy rainfall drenches rooftops, streets, and alleyways across Lahore, but while the downpour could help replenish the city’s rapidly depleting groundwater, most of it flows away unused. With no large-scale storage system in place, experts say millions of gallons of precious rainwater are wasted every year.
The problem comes at a time when Lahore is extracting 70 to 80 million gallons of groundwater daily. WASA alone operates around 600 tubewells, while thousands more run under private ownership. To address the crisis, WASA has launched an underground water storage tank project, but water experts believe the scale of the initiative is far smaller than what is required.
According to Dr. Muhammad Yasin, a water resources expert at the University of Punjab’s Centre for Integrated Mountain Research, the city’s water table is sinking at an alarming rate — between one and 1.5 meters each year.
“If we take a bucket of water from the ground, we should return a bucket,” Dr. Yasin explained. “Our university has built recharge wells in various locations. Instead of letting rainwater stand in fields for hours, these wells help it seep back into the ground.”
Recharge wells, he noted, filter rainwater through layers of stone, charcoal, and sand before channeling it underground, improving the water table while also reducing urban flooding.
WWF-Pakistan’s Director of Freshwater, Sohail Ali Naqvi, echoed the same point, calling rain harvesting “a way to revive the earth’s breathing and save every drop for tomorrow.” The organization has built 35 recharge wells across Lahore, including at the University of Punjab.
WASA Managing Director Ghufran Ahmed said three underground tanks — at Lawrence Road, Kashmir Road, and Sheranwala Gate — have already been completed, with a combined capacity of 4.4 million gallons.
“Ten more tanks are under construction across the city,” he added, listing projects at Gaddafi Stadium (4 million gallons), Kareem Park (1.8 million gallons), Tajpura B Block (3.2 million gallons), Garden Town, Cooper Road, Rasool Park, Tikka Chowk, Railway Station, Waris Road, and Fruit Mandi — each holding between 1.5 and 1.8 million gallons. Once completed, Lahore will have 13 operational tanks with a total capacity of 24.2 million gallons.”
