An Account of Waterlogging and Salinity Problems and Remedial Measures in Pakistan

Irrigation in the Indus Plain is being practiced along Indus River since the earliest settlements, thousands of years ago. Before the induction of weir controlled irrigation in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the water table was quite deep in the Indus plain. But due to deep percolation of seepage water from the unlined canals and on-farm irrigation, and without adequate drainage, a new increment of recharge was added to the groundwater regime of the Indus basin resulting into creation of severe perils of waterlogging and salinization of the soils in many parts of the country, affecting agricultural production. This problem was further aggravated due to construction infra structures, semi-arid climatic conditions, flat topography, poor natural drainage, porous soils, seepage from unlined irrigation channels and inefficient irrigation management. During late fifties, these problems became so serious that these became the biggest environmental issues and gigantic threat to the sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the country. It was estimated that about 40,000 ha of irrigated land was being lost due to waterlogging and salinity every year.

The responsibility for tackling this problem was assigned to Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) by the Government of Pakistan in 1958. Since then, a number of Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARPs) were launched by WAPDA and 57 SCARPs were completed so far. In addition to these completed SCARPs, a number of drainage projects in all provinces are in various stages of completion. The SCARPs mainly consisted of installation of tubewells, construction of surface and pipe drains and construction of intercepter drains.

The paper gives brief information on the extent of problems of waterlogging and salinity in the country, the remedial measures undertaken and the results achieved so far.

author(s):

G. Sarwar, Muhammad Ramzan Ch. And Muhammad Nawaz Bhutta
International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute (IWASRI)
13 West Wood Colony, Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore.