Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Afghanistan’s capital is facing a deepening water crisis, with groundwater levels falling sharply and nearly half of the city’s boreholes already dry, raising fears that Kabul could become the first modern capital to run out of water by 2030, according to a recent Prosper Global report cited by CNN.
Groundwater levels in Kabul have fallen by about 25 to 30 metres over the past decade, while water is being extracted far faster than natural sources can replenish it. The city faces an estimated annual groundwater shortfall of more than 44 million cubic metres, while groundwater supplies about 80 percent of residents’ water needs. Only about one-fifth of Kabul’s population has access to piped water.
For many residents, the projected “day zero” is already becoming a reality. Families without running water are spending hours collecting water from public pumps or paying increasingly high prices to private tanker companies. Some poorer households are estimated to spend as much as 30 percent of their income on water, far above the roughly 3 percent level considered affordable by the United Nations.
The crisis is being driven by rapid population growth, uncontrolled groundwater extraction, prolonged drought and declining snowfall. Kabul’s population has grown from less than one million in 2001 to about six million today, while Afghanistan has endured six consecutive years of drought. Snowfall also reached a 25-year low at the end of last year, according to UN data cited by CNN.
Water quality is another major concern. Prosper Global estimates that large parts of Kabul’s groundwater are contaminated by sewage, arsenic and salinity, leaving many families dependent on costly tanker water or unsafe sources. Experts have described the situation as approaching “water bankruptcy,” warning that the depleted groundwater cannot easily be restored.
Authorities and development partners have proposed projects including the Shah Tout Dam and a pipeline to bring water from the Panjshir River to Kabul. However, the projects face delays, funding constraints and political obstacles, while experts warn that major infrastructure would take years to complete.
The worsening shortage is therefore not only an environmental problem but also a growing humanitarian and economic threat. UN reporting has previously warned that acute groundwater depletion and limited access to water are already severely affecting Kabul residents, particularly women and children.