With many areas still without sanitation facilities and safe drinking water, public health continues to deteriorate
PESHAWAR:
Water is one of the most basic human needs for survival. Yet for people in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the bare necessity has been slowly transformed into an elusive luxury as several cities including Peshawar face a deepening water and sanitation crisis.
In this current abysmal scenario, rapid population growth has further strained the city’s fragile infrastructure. Peshawar’s population has crossed 2.4 million and continues to grow at an annual rate of 2.86 per cent, putting immense pressure on water supply and sanitation systems.
UNICEF data shows that nearly 80 per cent of water sources in the city are contaminated while groundwater levels are also declining sharply. According to the K-P Moza Census 2020, the average water table depth has dropped to 188 feet, raising serious long-term sustainability concerns.
Despite these challenges, the survey noted that 79.6 per cent of areas reported sufficient water availability, while 83.4 per cent of households had water within their premises. However, E. coli contamination was found in 13.6 per cent of water sources, 12.9 per cent in rural areas and 17.5 per cent in urban localities.
Chemical contamination further worsened the situation. Tests revealed 13.8 per cent nitrate contamination, 1.2 per cent fluoride, 3.3 per cent iron, and 14.6 per cent hardness (CaCO?) in water sources, posing serious health risks if consumed over time.
Sanitation conditions were equally alarming. Nearly 9.5 per cent of Peshawar’s population, around 400,000 people, still had no access to toilets. The survey noted that open defecation and poor hygiene practices significantly contributed to the spread of polio and other waterborne diseases.
“Peshawar’s water was once so sweet that poets wrote about it,” said Suleman Khan, a resident of Gulbahar, who blamed unchecked population growth, driven by migration from tribal districts and the long-term settlement of Afghan refugees, for overwhelming the city’s limited resources.
Khan also criticized successive governments for failing to resolve the crisis. Official figures show that 221,308 registered Afghan refugees live in Peshawar district, the highest number in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, adding further pressure on public services.
Census data from 2023 shows that out of 690,976 households, 670,248 have access to improved drinking water. Of these, 294,991 rely on tap water, while others use dug wells, bottled water or filtration plants. However, concerns persist over bottled water quality.
In October 2025, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority reported that 40 per cent of bottled water sold in the province was unsafe. Laboratory tests found that 117,543 litres out of 419,096 litres produced daily by 143 companies failed to meet safety standards.
Environmental expert Haseeb Khan described Peshawar as “severely overburdened” by population influx and poor governance. “The city still lacks a functional sewerage system. Only Hayatabad and Warsak Road were included in the original master plan. The government has failed to implement key policies, including the K-P Water Act 2020. Clean drinking water is a fundamental right, yet these laws exist only on paper,” criticized Khan.
Responding to the concerns, Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) spokesperson Javid Ali assured that water quality was monitored monthly and that 545 tubewells were operational across 42 union councils. “Over 400 kilometres of rusted pipelines have been replaced, with remaining work underway,” said Ali.
Prof Dr Mohammad Hussain, Vice President of the Pakistan Paediatric Association, warned that contaminated water fueled diarrhoea, hepatitis and polio transmission, calling for improved sanitation, hygiene awareness and strict food safety regulation.
K-P government spokesperson Shafi Jan claimed that clean drinking water remained a priority and that under the Peshawar uplift project, pipeline and drainage upgrades were expected to bring visible improvements soon.
