Linkages between irrigation and drinking water in Pakistan

In Pakistan, over 40 million people currently depend on irrigation water for domestic water needs. From 1998 to 2002, IWMI conducted several studies on linkages between irrigation water management and health in the southern Punjab, Pakistan. This paper presents the findings of the studies on water quality and domestic water use.
Irrigation canal water was found to be of poor quality, but many households exploited seepage water from irrigation canals for drinking purposes and this was generally of good quality. Water stored inside houses in clay vessels was of poor quality, irrespective of the quality at the source, suggesting considerable household contamination. Surveys on water use showed big differences in the availability of water between households, depending on the presence or absence of a water connection to the house and a large storage reservoir. Over 70 percent of households did not have enough water available to guarantee healthy conditions, and domestic water use went down to as low as 10 liters/capita/day during the yearly canal closure period. The utilization of seepage water should become part of strategies to improve the drinking water supply in rural areas affected by brackish groundwater. In irrigated areas with few seepage water sources special arrangements should be made to overcome canal closures to ensure that enough water is available for domestic water needs.
Future changes in irrigation water management could have important health impact. It is therefore important to consider domestic use of irrigation water when changes in irrigation water management are proposed.