There is a pressing need to monitor the use of the subsoil water and to also take measures, including artificial ones, to recharge the aquifers according to experts.
The experts at a conference on sustainable development in civil engineering called attention to Pakistan’s unrestricted use of subsoil water, which has been contributing to the resource’s quick depletion.
A resolution adopted on the last day of the three-day conference held at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in the Jamshoro district states: “There is a pressing need to monitor the use of the subsoil water and to also take measures, including artificial ones, to recharge the aquifers.”
According to experts, Pakistan is now the fourth-largest user of aquifers in the world, behind China, the United States, and India, because of its excessive subsoil water use.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has established a committee to control and tax industrial subsoil water users, but it has not included agricultural, commercial, or residential users in its purview.
The experts at the conference provided a low-cost, personalized, real-time ground water monitoring system in addition to an artificial ground water recharge system, keeping in mind the aforementioned issue.
The experts at the conference provided a low-cost, personalized, real-time ground water monitoring system in addition to an artificial ground water recharge system, keeping in mind the aforementioned issue.
The need for designing buildings with earthquake resistance was also emphasised by the experts. To conserve water, they recommended using cutting-edge materials like mortar-free masonry, dry-stacked block masonry, and waterless building materials. They recommended incorporating plastic waste into a variety of building materials, including concrete and paving stones.
Prof. Dr. Tauha Hussain Ali, vice chancellor of MUET, said during the opening session that sustainable development goes beyond building and constructing roads.
It implies that society will continue to grow sustainably overall. Ali informed the group that the university had established a policy requiring each department to generate its own revenue through consulting and research.
6.2 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water, 3.6 billion to drainage, 2.3 billion to sanitation, and 759 million to electricity and clean energy, according to Brazilian professor Dr. Douglas Barreto.
He stated that in the industrialized world, cities are being developed and buildings are being built with consideration for the environmental damage that human activity has caused.
Dr. Rizwan Memon, the conference’s chairman, informed attendees that they received 128 research papers for the event and eventually accepted 60 of them. Along with their Pakistani counterparts, researchers and academics from Brazil, Australia, and Malaysia spoke at various conference sessions.