As groundwater levels plunge and precious river flows slip away uncaptured, the Centre has drawn a line in the sand with an $18 billion plan to rewrite the nation's water future.
According to a report by the Planning Commission as reported by Geo News, Pakistan aims to increase its water-use efficiency from the current 40% to 70% over the next decade. The framework, operating under the National Water Security framework of URAAN Pakistan, sets a specific target to raise water storage capacity from 15.318 million acre-feet (MAF) to 23.54 MAF by 2029. Geo News noted that current live storage represents merely 11% of annual Indus River flows.
Background
The Planning Commission report highlights that agriculture currently accounts for approximately 95% of freshwater withdrawals in Pakistan, while water-use efficiency hovers around 40%. Ongoing Public Sector Development Programme projects are expected to add 9.821 MAF of storage, while proposed projects like the Akhori Off-Channel Storage Dam, Shyok Dam, and Skardu Dam could provide an additional 14.5 MAF. The $18 billion federal financing requirement covers storage development, canal modernisation, and flood management. Furthermore, the report points out that groundwater levels are declining by 0.5 to one metre annually across Punjab, and the Indus Basin Aquifer is ranked as the second most overstressed aquifer system globally. Flood warning times at Marala Headworks have also drastically shrunk, dropping from 40 hours in 2014 to 5.5 hours in 2025.
Why it matters
For ordinary citizens, farmers, and communities across Pakistan, these stark figures translate directly into everyday survival and economic stability. With agriculture consuming the vast majority of freshwater resources and solar-powered tubewells accelerating groundwater depletion at zero marginal energy cost, the proposed reforms aim to rationalise cropping patterns and encourage drip and sprinkler irrigation. The initiatives—including linking solar tubewell subsidies to groundwater registration, establishing a Water System Integrator under IRSA, and recycling urban wastewater—represent a vital shift toward securing drinking water, protecting harvests from worsening floods, and averting severe agricultural crises.