Nazeer Ahmed is one of hundreds
of water tanker drivers in Karachi, Pakistan.
Here, people don't have consistent access
to running water, so drivers like Nazeer
must get it to them.
Cities all over the world are running out of water:
São Paulo, Chennai, Cape Town.
A problem that's going to get worse
as climate change intensifies and infrastructure fails.
Because Karachi doesn't have a river running through it,
it's had to pipe all its water in
from over 70 kilometers away.
And as Karachi's population has grown, so has its size.
This meant water needed to get to more people
in an evermore sprawling city.
Today, Karachi has grown so big so fast
that it can only supply half the water the city needs.
Karachi's in line to become the third
most populated city in the world by 2030.
Right now, there isn't any neighborhood
that doesn't have water shortages.
But in Karachi's District West,
one of the city's poorest neighborhoods,
almost 40% of residents don't receive
any running water at all.
In Sarwari's home, everyone can only
use about 11 gallons of water per day.
That's less than 4 toilet flushes
or one 5-minute shower in the United States.
Until recently, Karachi's water crisis
gave organized crime an excuse to steal water
and then sell it via the tankers.
Illegally tapping water lines made
the city's existing shortage even worse.
The government says they've cracked down
on the tanker mafia, but many Karachiites
continue to blame drivers like Nazeer
for the city's lack of water.
Karachi's old infrastructure
loses about a third of its daily water
just piping it into the city.
Just think about that.
When every drop of water matters so much
to so many people, it's hard to imagine
that 30-40% is being wasted simply
because of pipe cracks and leaks.
Some of that water also gets stolen.
People who don't get water tap into lines
and take it for their own homes.
Aamir Alamgir is an environmental scientist
at the University of Karachi
who's been researching Karachi's water
for the past 10 years.
He knows that the city's current water problems
are a combination of municipal mismanagement,
industrial pollution and infrastructure problems.
He's also convinced that these water problems
are only going to get worse.
Here's an example of how deadly
these problems can be.
In 2015, Karachi experienced a massive heat wave.
The city struggled to provide people with enough water.
Over 1,000 people died over the course
of 2-3 days.
In the years since, the city has not done anything
to resolve these problems.
Scientists like Aamir predict that more events
like this will happen and more people will die.
Improving awareness of the water crisis
in Karachi may be an important first step,
but even people who are aware of the problem
also know that the system just isn't working for them.
Those who can afford to drill on their own property
for groundwater.
Imagine living in a major city and having
to drill a well
just to take a shower.
Karachi is currently using up groundwater
at a faster rate than it can replenish it.
Think of this like a bank account.
Essentially, the city is withdrawing money
and spending it without depositing enough back in.
Groundwater supplies used to be enough
to support a thriving agricultural industry around Karachi,
but as more people have tapped wells,
that resource is drying up
and produce prices have spiked.
Ahsan, who works for the company called Aqua Agro,
developed a system to help farmers reduce their water usage.
But he also represents a core tension in Karachi:
He's trying to help solve water issues,
but at the same time, the city is designed
so unsustainably and water scarcity is so rampant,
it's hard for him not to contribute to the problem.
So while he's had to drill even deeper at his own home,
Ahsan wants to make sure he can help farmers
conserve their water.
Aqua Agro is one small-scale solution
to Karachi's water crisis.
But to truly move the needle,
the city will have to make investments
in fixing infrastructure and start cleaning up corruption.
That's the only way for people like Sarwari
to get the water they need.
Doha Debates brings together innovators,
activists and students to find solutions
to urgent global issues.
To learn more, check out our debate
on the global water crisis that
was held in Cape Town, South Africa,
or watch our explainer on the water wars of the future.