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Karachi could face a shortfall of 100 million gallons of water per day after a major power breakdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said on Sunday, Dawn reported. The station is a key facility operated by the utility and supplies water to several major areas of the city.
A KWSC spokesperson said the "major" power breakdown in the second phase of the Dhabeji station was reported at 6:35 am, Dawn reported, adding that the disruption affected the 72-inch Line No. 5 and "four pumps of the phase shut down." The corporation cautioned that "the city could face a shortage of 100 million gallons of water due to the pumps' shutdown and the line being impacted." The utility said water supply was partially restored after power was supplied to two pumps at 9 am, and the remaining pumps would be made operational once repair work on the affected pipeline was completed. Repair efforts began on an "emergency basis" on the directives of KWSC Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Ali Siddiqui. KWSC assured citizens that technical teams were "utilising all resources in making every effort to restore the water supply from the affected line," adding that full restoration of the Dhabeji system was expected by Monday, after which operations would return to routine, Dawn reported. The statement noted that electricity at the Dhabeji station had remained suspended for "many hours" on November 5, November 11 and November 13 due to a "cable fault of K-Electric in the second phase, fourth phase and the K-III Pumping House." The KE said on Friday that power on 20 of the 22 pumps had been restored and blamed "leakages" in KWSC pipelines for damaging underground electricity cables. Dhabeji Pumping Station, Karachi's primary water intake point, has faced repeated outages and maintenance issues for over a decade, Dawn reported. Even brief electricity interruptions lead to immediate disruptions in water supply. Karachi previously faced a 100 MGD shortfall in January when "two water pipelines burst due to a power outage" at the station, while another major failure in June caused a shortfall of 350 MGD. With ongoing shortages, residents in multiple districts continue to rely on water tankers, often struggling to secure supply due to demand exceeding allocated quotas, Dawn reported. (ANI)
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