Without a more integrated approach, Kabul is heading toward a severe and likely irreversible water crisis. This absence gives space for the city’s rich and poor to grow even farther apart. The population has exploded from under one million in 2001 to about six million today. The city is trying to keep up with the current and increasing demand on the supply. Protecting an important water source Despite up to 80 percent of groundwater being contaminated with elevated levels of sewage, arsenic, and salinity. This shocking state of affairs is nothing short of an emergency. Experts are now saying that without the right interventions in place, Kabul may become the first major city to run out of clean drinking water by 2030.
The crisis is a perfect storm of factors. Climate change, bad governance, and over-pumping of our current water supplies are all contributors. In the last 10 years, the water table in Kabul’s aquifer has dropped between 25 to 30 meters (82 to 98 feet). The city’s groundwater extraction has exceeded the natural recharge by an astounding 44 million cubic meters per year! That’s the same as 1.5 billion cubic feet!
The crisis has only been exacerbated by recent weather patterns. From October 2023 to January 2024, Afghanistan had only 45 to 60 percent of its normal precipitation during the winter months that are essential for snowmelt irrigation. In the meantime, many residents are forced to adopt more and more dire practices in their pursuit of potable water.
The Divide Between Rich and Poor
The water crisis further illustrates the difference between Kabul’s wealthy citizens and those who aren’t as lucky. Wealthier residents can afford to drill deeper boreholes, further limiting access for the poorest individuals who often struggle to find clean water. Abdulhadi Achakzai, an Afghan local activist and expert on humanitarian disaster, describes the desperate situation many families now find themselves in.
“Every evening, even late at night, when I am returning home from work, I see young children with small cans in their hands looking for water … they look hopeless, navigating life collecting water for their homes rather than studying or learning.” – Abdulhadi Achakzai
This lack of access to clean water is an example of greater systemic oppression that still exists today in Kabul. While wealthier residents can secure their water supply through private means, poorer families often rely on contaminated sources, exacerbating health risks and undermining quality of life.
Kabul features more than 500 bottling plants offering drinking water and other beverages that draw from the city’s already depleted groundwater aquifers. Millions of Americans remain unable to consistently obtain enough water. Looking to the future, Najibullah Sadid, an expert on water management in Afghanistan, underscores the worsening crisis and the need for equitable resource distribution.
“Nobody can claim when the last well will run dry, but what we know is that as the groundwater levels further drop, the capacity of deep aquifers becomes less – imagine the groundwater as a bowl with depleting water.” – Najibullah Sadid
Governance Failures and External Pressures
Kabul’s chronic water crisis should be viewed through the lens of Afghan governance failures that have afflicted Afghanistan for decades. Assem Mayar, an urban management analyst, addresses an urgent problem. He argues that with the right federal authorities, they are unable to adequately address this booming issue.
“The crisis is already beyond the capacity of the current de facto authorities.” – Assem Mayar
In our top managed cities across the globe, strong water governance and world-class infrastructure minimize those effects. Sadly, Kabul does not have these robust systems in place, and its officials are poorly equipped to respond to the crisis without international assistance.
To make matters worse, recent geopolitical events have complicated or closed off most possible solutions. Western sanctions have frozen billions of dollars worth of development projects that might have strengthened Kabul’s water management capabilities. Sanctions still prevent flagging organizations and donors from funding and carrying out urgent, water related projects in Afghanistan.
“Several planned initiatives, including projects for artificial groundwater recharge, were suspended following the Taliban takeover.” – Assem Mayar
These sanctions have dramatic repercussions, even beyond cutting access to monetary support. They continue to impede the collaborative efforts that are crucial for developing sustainable solutions to Kabul’s water problems.
The Future of Water in Kabul
Experts have estimated that without impactful interventions within the next few years, Kabul may be subject to a worst-case scenario as early as 2030. The continued over-drafting of groundwater jeopardizes not just current access but long-term sustainability, in many cases for generations to come. With the city’s population continuing to grow, the need to resolve the city’s water crisis has become even more pressing.
The continuing dearth of rainfall has left other agricultural undertakings in distress too. Kabul has over 400 hectares (9,884 acres) of greenhouses that cultivate critical vegetables. These greenhouses use an astounding four billion liters (1.05 billion gallons) of water annually. This new agricultural demand laces an additional layer of complexity and urgency onto an already critical scenario.
As Kabul continues to contend with these complex and discordant pressures upon its water resources, it is imperative that stakeholders immediately pursue more innovative and sustainable solutions. Greater international cooperation and support would bring some much needed stability to Kabul’s precarious water system.
