Background Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewage Corporation (AUWSSC):

Brief History of AUWSSC: The first water supply distribution network was built for Kabul city in 1880 at Amir Abdulrahman khan period by using water springs (fountains) located behind Ibn-e-Sina hospital. Afterwards water supply services developed in Kabul at Amir Habibullah khan period in (1915-1920) by using water canals located in Paghman district, after that in 1970 water supply services began in other cities like Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Kandahar. In order for better coherence and management Afghanistan Water Supply Utility stablished according to the decree No of 1224 under the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in 20/Feb/1975 and it’s published in official journal No. 301 dated 05/Jun/1975, subsequently Afghanistan Water Supply Utility converted from central authority for water supply and sewerage to Afghanistan Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation as a governmental joint corporation in 2009 and its main objective is to provide productive sustainable water and wastewater services for urban and semi-urban areas of the country.
 

The AUSWWC said that their operations have decreased at least by 40 percent due to lack of sufficient water.  

“Our services have decreased in areas where we had 24/7 services, and also our services decreased in the areas where we were providing services one day after another,” said Sardar Wali Malikzai, an official at the AUWSSC.  

The Ministry of Energy and Water said that it will transfer water from Panjshir to Kabul. Speaking at a press conference, the acting Minister of MoEW, Abdul Latif Mansour, said that the project to transfer water from Panjshir to Kabul will cost $30 million. 

“We will start a water pipeline project from Panjshir to Kabul. Second, here is a water dam named Shatot which has an important role in providing water for the citizens,” he said.  

Meanwhile, the people who are digging wells said that the water levels mainly dropped in the Khairkhana, Qala-e-Zaman Khan and Karta-e-Naw areas of capital Kabul.  

“There are a lot of areas where the level of water has dropped by 30 to 50 meters,” said Mohammad Omar, who works in the well-digging industry.  

“Water levels have dropped all over Afghanistan. When we work in some areas in Kabul, the level of water has dropped in every area,” said Hakim Jan, who works digging wells. 

According to environmental analysts, lack of water-supplying networks and inappropriate use of groundwater are the main reason for the drop of water levels in the capital city of Kabul. (20220724)