Kabul Residents Warn of Falling Groundwater Levels Amid Surge in Deep Wells

Residents of Kabul have expressed concern over declining groundwater levels, attributing the issue to a sharp increase in deep wells drilled across the city in recent years. They are calling on authorities to regulate and curb unregulated drilling activities.

Toryali, a Kabul resident, said: “Deep wells in Kabul have increased, companies are many, the water has completely dried up. In every area, the number of wells should be reduced.”

Ahmad Idris, another resident, emphasized the need for permits, stating: “They must obtain permits, because drilling deep wells is a serious issue, as water is one of the most essential human needs.”

Individuals involved in deep-well drilling acknowledged the problem, noting that groundwater levels were significantly higher in the past. Lal Jan Raoufi, an official from a well-drilling company, said: “We are facing many problems in Kabul. In the past, when the water level was high, people had no problems, but now there are difficulties. Previously, water was found at 10 meters, but now even at 50 meters water is not found, and sometimes the water level has dropped to 100 meters.”

The state-owned Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Company has addressed the issue by reviewing permit requests. Ghulam Rahman Kazim, the company's executive director, said: “This year, more than 1,200 well-related requests have been submitted to us. Some of these were in areas where our own water sources exist, and we rejected them, but drilling activities were still ongoing. To prevent these issues and limit well drilling, and to assess how limiting wells benefits us, we held a meeting with the Ministry of Energy and Water to reject some requests and not allow well drilling.”

Efforts to obtain comment from the Ministry of Energy and Water were unsuccessful.

Experts have warned that without controlling deep-well drilling and prioritizing water resource management, Kabul risks facing severe environmental and humanitarian challenges from water scarcity in the near future.