Urban Population Behaviour and Knowledge Assessment about Water Quality, Consumption, and Conservation in Pakistan

Abstract

The scarcity of potable and drinking water has created great economic constraint upon the urban public in South Asia. The demand has increased ten folds while the supply although being abundant in ground and surface water rich areas has dwindled. Sustainable approaches to managing water require integrated management while community engagement lacks due to the technology unawareness and being deficient of water policies. Community acceptance regarding water policies is based on the knowledge which is a by-product of information and active engagement. While identifying community engagement, we verified local population knowledge-base and awareness about sustainable and integrated water management. To gain full knowledge we developed a case study to learn it from the community across Pakistan. The research instrument was designed to measure knowledge about water and the related factor contributing to conservation. The study was based on interviews of twenty-five thousand households selected through stratified sampling method in five large cities of the Punjab namely, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, and Faisalabad. We selected five thousand households in each of the urban areas. The study also measured psychological, health, environment, and water related activities. We also measured the impact of the monsoon season which impacts and recharges the ground water during the summer months. The responses were explanatory directing our attention towards strict water policy, urban water cycle issues, lack of proper solid waste disposal and absence of sewage treatment facilities. However, our finding of water knowledge was directly connected with the seniority in age, coupled with higher education and knowledge of health and water borne diseases. While the deficiency of knowledge and related actions towards policy formation were the direct result of not knowing modern languages of education, poverty, lack of access to information and gender biases. Lower water knowledge was a by-product of non-comprehension of the water filtration techniques, water harvesting of rainwater and knowledge of water scarcity and the procedures of protecting ground and surface water from the pollution of several types.