Karachi water supply affected due to power breakdown at Dhabeji station

Karachi faced a shortfall of 100 million gallons of water per day on Monday due to a sudden power breakdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station, affecting the city’s water supply.

The Dhabeji Pumping Station is a water supply facility that serves the city of Karachi. It is one of the major pumping stations operated by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC).

Over the last decade, the pumping station has been facing multiple problems related to maintenance and technical issues that often lead to the suspension of water supply to the metropolis.

KWSC spokesperson Abdul Qadir Shaikh said today that the disruption was caused after “two water pipelines burst due to a power outage”.

“Two lines belonging to the water corporation burst due to a power breakdown, he said.

“A 72-inch PRCC line number 1 and 72-inch MS line number 5 were affected,” he added.

KWSB Chief Engineer Zafar Palejo said, “Water supply to the city continues through alternative lines.”

“Repair work of affected line number 5 will be completed in the next 24 hours while the repair work of affected line number 1 will be completed in the next four days,” the chief engineer added.

Due to the repair work, the city will face a daily water shortage of 100 MGD out of the total water supply of 650MGD, Shaikh said.

“It should be noted that there was a sudden power breakdown at Dhabeji Pumping Station 9:15am,” the spokesperson said, adding that K-Electric restored power to the station at 10:45am.

Due to the breakdown, all the functions of the pumping station were completely stopped, and once the power supply was restored, water supply to the city resumed through alternative lines, Shaikh said.

The pipeline ruptures owing to the pressure created by the reverse flow of the water.

Meanwhile, K-electric spokesperson Ammar Muzaffar said, “The electricity supply to the Dhabeji Pumping Station has been timely restored. The minor disruption at the station has been resolved, and KE’s system remains stable, ensuring uninterrupted power delivery.”

According to the KE spokesperson, all major pumping stations of the KWSB, including Dhabeji, are exempt from load-shedding.

“In emergency situations, alternative power sources are used to maintain supply. KE teams stay in constant communication with KWSB representatives and remain prepared to address any issues promptly,” the spokesperson added.

Earlier in the month, Karachi faced a similar shortfall of 100 million gallons of water due to annual maintenance work by K-Electric at the Dhabeji Station.

In December of last year, the residents in major parts of the city, including Clifton, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, and Liaquatabad faced an acute shortage of water that continued for multiple days.

The city remained short of 150MGD of water for a week after the main burst on University Road, leading not only to water shortage but also a great deal of hardship for commuters and motorists due to the flooding of the main road near Karachi University.

In June of 2024, Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani had informed the Sindh Assembly that almost half of Karachi’s population was forced to purchase water for their daily use from different sources as “the gap in water supply and demand in the city is 50 per cent”.