Power fault at Dhabeji station threatens water supply to parts of Karachi

Power breakdown shuts three pumps, reducing water supply by 75 million gallons across affected Karachi areas

Karachi is once again facing the prospect of a water crisis after the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) warned that water supply to parts of the city may be temporarily affected due to a power breakdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station.

According to a KWSC spokesperson, a power breakdown occurred at 8:45am in the third phase of the Dhabeji Pumping Station, with electricity supply to the affected phase yet to be restored.

The spokesperson said K-Electric had attributed the disruption to a cable fault and dispatched its technical team to the site to rectify the issue.

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As a result of the fault, three pumps at the Dhabeji Pumping Station were temporarily shut down, resulting in an expected shortfall of 75 million gallons per day in Karachi's water supply.

The spokesperson said the temporary reduction in supply could affect parts of North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Gulberg Town, New Karachi, Landhi, Korangi and Scheme 33.

According to the spokesperson, the KWSC administration remained in constant contact with K-Electric to ensure the fault was rectified and power supply restored at the earliest.

He added that the affected pumps would be brought back into operation immediately after electricity was restored so that normal water supply to the city could resume as soon as possible.

However, K-Electric denied that the disruption was caused by a fault in its electricity distribution system.

A K-Electric spokesperson said the fault in KDA Pumping Feeder 2, which supplies electricity to the Dhabeji Pumping Station, was internal in nature and was not related to the utility's network.

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The spokesperson said power supply to 19 of the 22 pumping motors at the Dhabeji Pumping Station remained uninterrupted.

"Our team is in contact with the relevant authorities to assist the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) in addressing the fault," the spokesperson added.

The disruption came as the city is already grappling with water supply problems caused by repeated damage to water pipelines during development work on University Road.

KWSC officials said pipelines were being damaged almost daily during excavation and construction work associated with the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project and the K-IV augmentation project, severely affecting the city's water distribution network and disrupting supplies to consumers.