The Asian Development Bank’s latest Asian Water Development Outlook warns that Pakistan is facing a worsening water security crisis. Despite some limited improvements over the past decade, the report says more than 80 percent of Pakistan’s population still lacks reliable access to safe drinking water.
The ADB attributes the crisis to several interacting pressures: rapid population growth, climate change, weak and fragmented governance, and unsustainable water use. Agricultural over-extraction of groundwater has depleted aquifers and exacerbated arsenic contamination in many areas. Shifts in monsoon patterns, melting glaciers and a growing frequency of extreme flood events — most dramatically the 2022 floods that displaced millions — have further strained water infrastructure and services.
Per-capita water availability has declined sharply, falling from roughly 3,500 cubic metres in 1972 to about 1,100 cubic metres by 2020, a level approaching absolute scarcity. The report notes that waterborne disease remains a widespread public-health problem, and that rural households continue to contend with unsafe supplies and inadequate sanitation.
There have been some positive developments: WASH initiatives and heightened hygiene messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic improved conditions in parts of the country, and urban water security and disaster preparedness have shown modest gains. Nevertheless, the ADB finds that overall water governance is hindered by inefficiency, institutional fragmentation and chronic underfunding, which limit the translation of policy into results.
The bank’s assessment shows an improvement in Pakistan’s water governance score, from about 50 percent in 2017 to 63 percent in 2023, reflecting stronger policy frameworks but continued weak enforcement. The 2018 National Water Policy is cited as ambitious, yet implementation has fallen short, leaving a persistent gap between planning and action.
To reverse the trend, the ADB urges a series of policy and institutional reforms: convene and empower the long-delayed National Water Council, implement volumetric water pricing, devolve relevant authorities to local governments, bolster environmental protections, secure sustainable financing, and mainstream climate resilience across water planning and investments. The bank cautions that without these stronger institutions and resources, any gains in water security are likely to remain uneven and fragile.
The report underscores that urgent, coordinated action is required to protect public health, safeguard groundwater and make Pakistan’s water systems more resilient to ongoing climatic and demographic pressures.
