Water logging and salinity in Pakistan is very complex and diverse topic for students ,students usually seems difficulty to find out authentic and concise material about that ,so here is very strong effort for all science students specially for Botany,zoology,chemistry and BS students,insha allah you will definitely be happy to find it out,wish you huge best of luck abluntaly.

2. INTRODUCTION:
Water is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants and animals
must have water to survive. If there was no water, there would be no life on
earth. Water is also essential for the healthy growth of farm crops and farm stock
and is used in the manufacture of many products. It is most important that the
water which people drink and use for other purposes is clean water. This means
that the water must be free of germs and chemicals and be clear (not cloudy).
Water that is safe for drinking is called potable water. Disease-causing germs and
chemicals can find their way into water supplies. When this happens the water
becomes polluted or contaminated and when people drink it or come in contact
with it in other ways they can become very sick. Water that is not safe to drink is
said to be non-potable. Throughout history there have been many occasions
when hundreds of thousands of people have died because disease-causing germs
have been spread through a community by a polluted water supply.
One of the reasons this happens less frequently now is that people in many
countries make sure drinking water supplies are potable. Water supplies are
routinely checked for germs and chemicals which can pollute water. If the water is
not safe to drink it is treated. All the action taken to make sure that drinking
water is potable is called water treatment.

3. WATER LOGGING AND SALINITY IN
PAKISTAN:
Water logging is the natural flooding and over- irrigation that brings water at
underground levels to the surface. As a consequence, displacement of the air
occurs in the soil with corresponding changes in soil processes and an
accumulation of toxic substances that impede plant growth. The actual depth of
water table, when it starts affecting the yield of the crops adversely, may vary
over a wide range from zero for rice to about 1.5 meters for other crops.
Waterlogging and salinization are major impediment to the sustainability of
irrigated lands and livelihoods of the farmers, especially the smallholders, in the
affected areas of the Indus Basin. These problems are the result of a multitude of
factors, including seepage from unlined earthen canals system, inadequate
provision of surface and subsurface drainage, poor water management practices,
insufficient water supplies and use of poor quality groundwater for irrigation.
About 6.3 million ha are affected by different levels and types of salinity, out of
which nearly half are under irrigated agriculture. Since the early 1960s, several
efforts have been made to improve the management of salt-affected and
waterlogged soils. These include lowering groundwater levels through deep
tubewells, leaching of salts by excess irrigation, application of chemical
amendments (e.g. gypsum, acids, organic matter), and the use of biological and
physical methods. However, in spite of huge investments, the results have in
general been disappointing and the problems of waterlogging and salinity persist.

4. Waterlogging management in Pakistan:
The government has to do its bit to alleviate the problem. The water flow in the
Kotri barrage, for instance, is hampered by silt and sludge. The authorities show
little interest in dredging the drainage network in Sindh.
The government, Bukhsh added, should redesign the drain network to discharge
fresh water into the sea. Besides, tubewells should be installed in the area to suck
out water from the fertile lands.
According to a research paper, Salinity and Water-logging in the Indus Basin of
Pakistan: Economic Loss to Agricultural Economy, around 43% of the area in the
Indus Basin Irrigation System is classified as waterlogged with the water table at a
depth of less than three metres, affecting around 7.1 million hectares of land.
A salinity survey conducted in 2001-03 by the Soil and Reclamation Directorate of
the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) showed that 27% of the

5. SINDH GOVERNMENT ACTION:
The government of Sindh has recently banned rice cultivation in command areas
of the canals on the left bank of the Indus to control waterlogging and salinity. A
grower who violates the ban would be fined Rs. 25,000 rupees ($246) per acre or
with three years’ imprisonment. But a majority of farmers complain that the
government ensures that the ban is imposed only on small growers.
The area where the rice cultivation is banned includes districts like Ghotki,
Khairpur, Sanghar, Mirpur Khas and Tando Allah Yar.

6. Pakistan’s agriculture sector and surveys:
 Pakistan’s agriculture sector contributes a fifth of the country’s GDP and
employs almost half of the labour force, according to the Pakistan
Economic Survey 2013-14. The issue of waterlogging is turning around
100,000 acres of land barren per annum while sea intrusion across the
coastal belt of the country has been exacerbating the salinity problem each
passing day, said Sardar Muhammad Tariq, former regional chair, Global
Water Partnership South Asia.
 Tariq told thethirdpole.net that Pakistan lacks a proper law to regulate use
of water in the agriculture sector. Farmers grow crops like rice and
sugarcane in running water. “The government should promote salt-tolerant
crops in the salinity-hit areas instead of investing on curbing the problem,”
he suggested.
 Tariq also suggested that the government install vertical tubewells and
improve drainage system to address the waterlogging problem. He also
suggests they develop specific seed varieties for the area.
Government officials say they are doing their bit to address the problems.
The Sindh government had initiated a project in 1967 to address the issue of
waterlogging and salinity in the province. As many as 3,657 tube wells were
installed in different districts, said an official. Zaheer Hyder Shah, secretary, Sindh
Irrigation Department, added that the tubewells run eight hours daily and pump
out around 7,588 cusecs of water. “Around 2,400 tubewells are operational now
while the remaining have developed some faults,” he told thethirdpole.net. The
provincial government pays the bills for electricity and repair of all the tubewells.
Bakhsh of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, however, said only 5% of the
tubewells were operational. Shah admitted that waterlogging and salinity were
the biggest issues in agriculture. He states the government are planning to install
more tubewells in the problem areas to keep a check on the groundwater table.

8. Managing salinity in the Indus Basin of
Pakistan:
Waterlogging and salinity have plagued irrigated agriculture in the Indus Basin for
the past 30–40 years. Approximately 6 million ha (35–40% of total irrigated area)
experience these twin problems. As a result, the production potential of the Indus
Basin has been reduced by 25%. Over the last 40 years, the Government of
Pakistan has adopted engineering, reclamation, and biological measures to
address these problems. Part of the engineering solution involved large‐scale
Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARPs) in all four provinces. The
program covered 8 million ha and cost approximately US$2 billion. Two big
disposal projects were also initiated to solve the drainage disposal problems. To
address the saline soil problem, some of the measures tested include leaching of
salts by excess irrigation, use of chemicals (such as gypsum and acids), and
addition of organic matter and biological measures (such as salt‐tolerant plants,
grasses, and shrubs). The success of these initiatives has been limited: 35–40% of
irrigated land still suffers from high water tables and moderate to severe salinity.
Lack of coordination among federal and provincial governments, research
institutes, and national and international organizations; conventional farming and
irrigation methods used by farmers; limited attention to reclamation and saline
agricultural approaches; and lack of resources are some of the reasons for the low
success rate. A more concerted effort that includes a greater focus on saline
agriculture, capacity building of farmers, and promotion of local interventions to
improve self‐reliance is necessary for the management of salinity in the Indus
Basin. A sustainable solution would also require coordination among different
provinces and strengthening of federal and provincial government agencies.

9. Types of Waterlogging;
1) Water logging due to permanent submersion of land. Such as ponds, rivers, etc.
2) Water logging from periodical submersion such as coastal &land inundation by
soil
water or runoff of freshwater over lands etc.
3) Temporary water logging by stagnation of water as a result of heavy rainfall.
4) Another cause of water logging is swampy areas in valleys.
5) Water logging from artificial irrigation of agricultural lands in polders areas.

10. Effected areas:
 The experts accord water logging and salinity as a major problem of agri.
sector of Pakistan. According to an estimate the 50% of irrigated lands have
been affected by water logging and salinity, while 30 lac acres of lands have
become uncultivable.
 Again, one lac acre of land is being affected by water logging and salinity
each year. In case of Punjab, every year 70,000 acres of lands are being
affected by water logging and salinity.
 All those areas of lands which occur in Indus Basin system like Gujranwala,
Shekupura, Faisalabad, Shapur, Jhang, Multan, Muzafar Garh and Khairpur
have wrostly been affected by water logging and salinity.

11. SALINITY CONTROL IN PAKISTAN:
 Salinity is the concentration of dissolved salts found in water. It is measured
as the total amount of dissolved salts in parts per thousand (sometimes
called PSU or Practical Salinity Units by scientists). Ten parts per thousand is
equal to one percent.
 Soil salinity control relates to controlling the problem of soil salinity and
reclaiming Stalinized agricultural land
 The aim of soil salinity control is to prevent soil degradation by salivation
and reclaim already salty (saline) soils. Soil reclamation is also called soil
improvement, rehabilitation, remediation, recuperation, or amelioration.
 The primary man-made cause of Stalinization is irrigation. River water or
groundwater used in irrigation contains salts, which remain behind in the
soil after the water has evaporated.
 The primary method of controlling soil salinity is to permit 10-20% of the
irrigation water to leach the soil, be drained and discharged through an
appropriate drainage system. The salt concentration of the drainage water
is normally 5 to 10 times higher than that of the irrigation water, thus salt
export matches salt import and it will not accumulate.

12. Control of water logging:
 Water logging refers to the saturation of soil with water. Soil may be
regarded as waterlogged when the water table of the groundwater is too
high to conveniently permit an anticipated activity, like agriculture.
 Biological control A literature review was carried out on investigations from
around the world into the effectiveness of biological drainage. The review
covers the impact of different types of trees, bushes and crops on water
table and the control of water logging
 Drainage is usually the best way of reducing water logging. Other
management options to reduce the impact of water logging include: choice
of crop, seeding, fertilizer and weed control.
 Choice of crop species Some species of grains crop are more tolerant than
others. Grain legumes and canola are generally more susceptible to water
logging than cereals and fiber beans.
 Crop damage is particularly severe if plants are waterlogged between
germination and emergence. Plant first those paddocks that are susceptible
to water logging. However, if water logging delays emergence and reduces
cereal plant density to fewer than 50 plants/m2, reshow the crop.
 Nitrogen fertilizer Crops tolerate waterlogging better with a good nitrogen
status before waterlogging occurs. Applying nitrogen at the end of a
waterlogging period can be an advantage if nitrogen was applied at or
shortly after seeding because it avoids loss by leaching or gentrification.
However, nitrogen cannot usually be applied from vehicles when soils are
wet, so consider aerial applications
 Nitrogen fertilizer If water logging is moderate (7–30 days water logging to
the soil surface), then nitrogen application after water logging events when
the crop is actively growing is recommended where basal nitrogen
applications were 0– 50kg N/ha. However, if water logging is severe
(greater than 30 days to the soil surface), then the benefits of nitrogen
application after water logging are questionable.
 But this recommendation requires verification in the field at a range of
basal nitrogen applications using a selection of varieties.

13. CONCLUSION:
The problem of irrigation-induced salinity warrants greater attention than it is
getting today. The technologies exist to ameliorate or eliminate the problem and
delays in taking action will only escalate the economic, social, and environmental
damage and the cost of repairing such damage. Because of the nature of the
agricultural sector and most irrigation schemes in developing countries, it is often
the small farmer, who can least afford it, who has to bear the burden of the cost
associated with salinity. In light of the externalities associated with corrective
measures, governments will have to play a major role in correcting or alleviating
salinity problems. Donor agencies will also have an important role in enhancing
the capacities of governments to do so.
The battle against salinity will have to Se launched in three fronts. Governments
have to commit to a policy of sound water management and to the fostering of an
economic environment promoting efficient resource use. At the same time,
agricultural strategies should promote the adoption of improved production
methods, particularly efficient water-use practices among farmers. Lastly, greater
effort has to be directed at examining the environmental impact of projects that
involve water resource use and development to ensure that only economically
and environmentally sound projects are undertaken.