Kabul faces water crisis as drought, population strain supply

The Afghan capital of Kabul faces an eminent crises as drought continues  since shortage of rain and snow, a booming population and wasteful consumption have drained the Afghan capital’s water basin and sparked a race to the bottom as households and businesses bore deeper and deeper wells in search of the precious resource.

The Afghan capital of Kabul faces an eminent crises as drought continues  since shortage of rain and snow, a booming population and wasteful consumption have drained the Afghan capital’s water basin and sparked a race to the bottom as households and businesses bore deeper and deeper wells in search of the precious resource.

“The water level has dropped so much that it is now necessary to reach other underground basins 100m, even 120m” deep, says well digger Mohammad Aman as his dilapidated machine pierces the ochre earth in Kochi’s yard.

Every year 80 million cubic metres (2.8 billion cubic feet) of water are extracted from Kabul’s aquifers – nearly double the natural recharge rate through precipitation, according to utility Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation.

As a result Kabul’s water table has fallen at least 30m (100 feet) in recent years, says Asian Development Bank deputy country director Shanny Campbell.