Karachi water supply hit again as power faults disrupt pumping for third straight day

KARACHI: Karachi’s strained water distribution system suffered another setback on Monday after supply from the Hub Pumping Station was suspended because of a fault in K-Electric’s main cable, extending a run of power-related disruptions at key pumping facilities into a third consecutive day.

According to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), the latest outage caused a daily shortfall of 85 million gallons per day (MGD) in the city’s water supply. The disruption added to a wider water crisis that, has affected Karachi for the past two months.

The latest interruption followed a series of earlier breakdowns that had already reduced supply across the metropolis. During the three days of Eidul Azha, the city experienced severe water shortages. On May 30, supply in several localities was affected after K-Electric carried out a forced shutdown at the Dhabeji Grid to address what was described as a major technical fault in Power Transformer No. 1. That shutdown took 10 of the 21 pumping units at the Dhabeji Pumping Station offline, interrupting water transmission to multiple areas.

The situation worsened in the early hours of Saturday when electricity to the North East Karachi (NEK) Water Pumping Station failed at 3:27am because of a fault in K-Electric’s main supply cable. KWSC said the outage stopped operations at the K-II Pumping Station, affecting supply in several parts of the city and immediately creating a shortfall of 54 MGD.

Power to the NEK facility was later restored, allowing K-II and K-III to resume normal operations. However, the day-long disruption had already led to a cumulative shortfall of 122 MGD.

On Monday, the city’s water troubles continued when the Hub Pumping Station also lost power because of a cable fault. With three straight days of electricity failures at important pumping points, the pressure on Karachi’s already weak water supply system has increased further during hot weather.

Later in the evening, a K-Electric spokesperson said electricity to the Hub Pumping Station had been arranged through alternative sources. The spokesperson said the station’s supply had been affected by a cable fault.

"KE’s technical teams remain in coordination with representatives of the water board to ensure continued support and operational stability," the spokesperson added.