Water resources in Pakistan include both natural resources like rainfall, rivers, glaciers, and wells, as well as artificial resources like dams and reservoirs. Rainfall and glacial meltwater are particularly important, providing water for agriculture, hydropower, and replenishing surface water. The Indus River and its five major tributaries supply over 150 million acre feet of surface water annually. Dams like Mangla and Tarbela are also critical, while groundwater meets 37% of public water supply needs and is increasingly used for irrigation. Overall, Pakistan has an abundance of water resources but must manage them sustainably to ensure long-term availability.

1. z
Impotance of
Water Resources
in Pakistan
Hajrah Malik
1213-
FBAS/BSES/S18

2. z
Water Resources
▪ Water resources are sources of water (usually fresh water) that are
useful, or potentially useful, to society; for instance for agricultural,
industrial or recreationaluse.
▪ Examples include groundwater, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

3. z
There are two types of major water
resources in Pakistan
▪ Natural resources:
It includerainfall, rivers, glaciers,
ponds, lakes, streams, and wells etc.
▪ Artificialresources:
It consist of the surface water from
rainfall and rivers, which that is
stored in dams and reservoirs.

4. z
Rainfall
▪ There are two major sources of rainfall in Pakistan i.e., the Monsoons
and the Western Disturbances. There is about 70 percent of the annual
Monsoon rainfall from July to September. Pakistan has both arid and
semi-arid zones. The entire Indus plain receives an average seasonal
rainfall of 212mm and 53mm in the Kharif and Rabi seasons,
respectively.

5. z
Importance of Rainfall:
▪ Summer monsoon season in Pakistan is of great importance for its
agricultural, economic and social purposes.
▪ These rains are not only used for water needs of plants in agricultural
sector but also to kill the insects by physical beating.
▪ The monsoon gratifies the crops in rain-fed agricultural areas, recharges
groundwater reservoirs and replenishes surface water resources for
hydropower generation in the country.

6. z
Glaciers
▪ There are more glaciers in Pakistan than any other land, except North
and South Poles. The glacier area of Pakistan is about 13,680sq km
and on the average is 3 percent of mountainousregion of upperIndus
Basin and accountsfor most of the river turnoffin summer. Pakistan
has greatest mass and collectionof glaciers on the earth.

7. z
Importance of Glaciers
▪ Glaciers serve as a natural regulator of regional water supplies.
▪ These glaciers are enormous reservoirs of fresh water and their melt
water is an important resource which feed rivers in Pakistan
▪ Glaciers are important features in Earth's water cycle and affect the
volume, variability, and water quality of runoff in areas where they
occur.

8. z
Rivers
▪ Pakistan has been blessed with several rivers which are tributariesto
the Indus. The five main rivers which join Indus from eastern side are
Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, beside three minor rivers are
the Haro, Soan and Siran.

9. z
Dams
▪ Dams have been used for providing storage for drinking water
and irrigation, flood control, and open water for navigation.
Some of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan are:
▪ Mangla Dam.
▪ Tarbela Dam.
▪ Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
▪ Bunji Dam.

10. z
Surface Water in Pakistan
▪ The resource of surface water is the Indus System based on the river inflow
measured at the rim station. In the context of Indus Basin System, a rim station
is defined as a control structure (barrages, reservoirs etc.) on river just when
the river system enters into the Pakistan territory or upstream of the canal
irrigated Indus plain of Sindh and Punjab provinces. The rim stations for the
Indus System Rivers are the Kalabagh Barrage for the main Indus River,
Marala Barrage for the Chenab River, Marala Reservoir for the Jehlum River,
and Sulemanki and Ballkoi barrages for the Sutlej and Ravi rivers. The Indus
System and its tributaries bring on an average 154 MAF of water annually.

11. z
Groundwater in Pakistan
▪ Other important source of water is groundwater which consists 99 percent of
freshwater and easily accessible for the world. In Pakistan, the volume of
ground water is immeasurable. In last four year its availability has been
increased from 3 percent to the 40 percent of total water available at the farm
gate. . The total potential of groundwater in Pakistan is 55 MAF (Pakistan
Water Strategy Report).

12. z
Importance of Groundwater
▪ The water is used for irrigation purposes and pumped through tube
wells.
▪ Groundwater, which is in aquifers below the surface of the Earth, is
one of the Nation's most important natural resources.
▪ Groundwater is the source of about 37 percent of the water that county
and city water departments supply to households and businesses
(public supply).

13. z
Conclusion
▪ Water is a very important resource and every living creaturedepends
on water for its survival. We should not depletethe water resources and
must use water resource in a sustainablemanner.