Filtration plant handover disrupts clean water supply in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: The transfer of control of water filtration plants in union councils across the city to the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority has disrupted the supply of potable water in several areas, after Water and Sanitation Agency staff began a phased withdrawal from the facilities.

According to the reported details, the district administration has handed over all filtration plants installed in union councils to the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority (PSPA). Following the move, administrative control, maintenance work and the replacement of filters have shifted from the previous arrangement to the authority.

In areas falling under the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation, there are 46 union councils, with each having between seven and 11 filtration plants. However, despite two weeks having passed since the transfer of responsibility, the PSPA has not yet fully deployed its own operators at the sites, resulting in the temporary closure of many plants and an interruption in the supply of filtered drinking water.

The disruption has caused difficulties for residents as well as traders in different localities. More than 60 per cent of the city’s filtration plants are currently not functioning, while production at another 40 per cent has dropped to half of normal levels. Officials have warned that if staff are not posted within the coming week, the remaining plants that are still operating at reduced capacity may also stop working.

Residents and traders report prolonged closures

Local traders said the shutdown has already affected daily life in some neighbourhoods. Adam Khan and Iftikharuddin, traders from Naya Mohalla Bazaar, said the filtration plant in their area has remained closed for a week.

They said WASA staff told them that the matter now falls under the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority and that operations would restart once the authority’s trained personnel assume charge.

Authority says deployment has started

A spokesperson for the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority said the process of posting staff has already begun. The spokesperson added that all filtration plants would be made fully operational within a few days.

The handover has therefore created a transition period in which a large number of filtration plants have either stopped functioning or are operating below capacity, affecting access to clean drinking water in multiple parts of Rawalpindi.

The reported figures indicate that the issue is widespread across the city’s union councils, where filtration plants had been serving residents before the administrative shift. With maintenance and operational responsibilities now formally transferred, the restoration of normal water supply depends on the completion of staff deployment by the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority.