Most of the ground water in Musakhel is potable, though in some villages the water is slightly saline. Drinking water is obtained from open surface wells, tube wells, and even from brooks. The Public Health Engineering Department has constructed 18 water supply schemes – of which 6 are not functional – through which drinking water has become available through overhead and community tanks. Diesel operated tube wells are used to obtained water for 10 schemes while 5 schemes are based upon open surface wells from which water is obtained through diesel pumps. Two schemes are spring based and one is on gravity flow. According to the PHED statistics, 8.9 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water through these schemes. However it is estimated that illegal connections are twice the legal ones.

A small proportion (8.9%) of the population is being provided drinking water through 12 functional water supply schemes constructed by the Public Health Engineering Department. In case of overhead tank, water is supplied through house connections as well as community tanks. A monthly flat water fee has been imposed on consumers with house connections, but nobody pays. A connection fee is charged without which a connection is not given. Mostly, community tanks are used to provide drinking water from where children and adults fetch water. The remaining population obtain water from open surface wells, rivulets, and springs. In collaboration with the UNICEF, the Water and Sanitation Cell of Local Government and Rural Development Department has installed some deep well hand pumps throughout the district which has made the fetching of water a more easy task. Basically these hand pumps are installed on already existing open surface wells. Therefore the number of water sources has not increased. Women and children fetch water for domestic use and sometimes they use donkeys and small trolleys if they have to bring the water from a distant source. Usually people live near the water source.

One third (6) of the water supply schemes constructed by the Public Health Engineering Department is not functioning. Three of these schemes are not functioning due to tribal feuds or people’s undue demands and interference for employment. Two schemes are not functioning due to mechanical disorders and one scheme was damaged by last year’s flood. In a number of cases, people do not seem to be eager to operate the schemes themselves. They do not understand why they are asked to run the schemes themselves, while some other schemes are funded by the government. However, to date 4 schemes have been handed over to the community and all of them function properly.

Water supplied through schemes is neither chlorinated nor treated in some other way. However, all community tanks are lined and water pipelines are laid one metre below the surface to avoid breakage and consequent water contamination. At present, all schemes are diesel operated as a result of which operational costs are high. Although water supply schemes have facilitated people with the provision of drinking water, the overall satisfaction level in the community seems to be low.

Most of the water supply schemes are administered by the Public Health Engineering Department. Out of the functional schemes 4 have been handed over to the community for operation and management.

One has to cross rivulets like this one to reach Musakhel.

The water supply schemes constructed by the Public Health Engineering Department supply water in two ways; through house connections or commercial connections and through community tanks. A monthly flat rate of Rs. 30 per house connection and Rs. 250 per commercial connection is charged, but nobody pays. In case of water supply through community tanks no water charges are levied. In case the schemes are being operated by the community, the Water Management Association fixes the tariff and levies for water. The community arranges operation and repairs costing less than 10 thousand rupees. Major repairs (more than 10 thousand rupees) are taken care of by the Public Health Engineering Department. Three of the 4 schemes handed over to the community are in Kingri union council. The fourth one is in Musakhel union council.

The overall quality of drinking water in Musakhel is good, though in some areas ground water is slightly brackish and not suitable for drinking. Deep drilling is required there to obtain potable water. A total of 4 test wells were drilled in Musakhel by the Balochistan Development Authority (BDA) to examine the quality of water. WAPDA has also carried out investigations to estimate ground water potential in Musakhel. According to the WAPDA report, an area of about 300 square kilometres has been surveyed and it was found that the average annual precipitation in Musakhel amounts to 230 mm. It was estimated that there is an approximate ground water potential of 10 cubic feet per second (cusecs), of which now only 3 cusecs are extracted. So there remain 7 cusecs of ground water to be extracted.

In Musakhel district, sanitation is very poor. There is no sewerage system and no solid waste management. Three organisations, the Public Health Engineering Department, the District Council, and the union councils, have the task to provide sanitation services to people, but none of them is addressing this important issue. They all have an excuse of unavailability of funds. The result is that sewerage water flows in the streets and household garbage is dumped just outside houses. None of the government or non-government organisations has a plan for a motivational campaign to educate the people.

The Public Health Engineering Department is mainly responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of water supply schemes; to look after water resources; to provide sewerage and solid waste disposal facilities; and to levy water and sanitation charges. The whole of Musakhel district is a sub-division of the Public Health Engineering Department, headed by a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO). In 1995-96, the recurrent budget of the Department was about Rs. 124,982, and no development budget was released to the Department. It is hoped that after handing over water supply schemes to the community, the Department will direct its attention to the exploitation of more water resources and sanitation services.

The provincial government plays a major role in the provision of drinking water in collaboration with some international donors. Increased participation of communities in the operation and management of water supply schemes will not only lessen the burden on the public exchequer, but will also ensure better service delivery.

Access to the drinking water is still a problem for the people in Musakhel, as only 8.9 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water through water supply schemes. If all schemes constructed to date would be functioning, the coverage percentage would approximately be twice the present one. Non-functioning schemes can be put in operation again by motivating communities to settle their feuds and take over these schemes. The provision of electricity for operation of water supply schemes can cut down the operational costs.

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