Kabul risks 'running dry’ as groundwater plunges and tanker trade grows

Kabul’s groundwater is falling to record lows, pushing many residents to buy drinking water from mobile tankers, according to the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW).

The Ministry’s spokesman Qari Matiullah Abid said that they have begun to regulate water providers and that up to 200 of them have been legalised, with guidance to source from surface water or outside the city. 

He added that monitoring teams are active, and curbs are in place on large users such as factories and high-rises. 
“Excessive reliance on groundwater could create serious problems, consumers must use surface water where possible and exercise restraint,” Abid said.

Environmental scientist Dr Mohammad Dawood Shirzad warned companies are over-extracting and hauling Kabul’s groundwater to other areas. 

He said the city’s expansion has blocked natural recharge, adding, “Even with normal rain and snowfall, the water balance will still be negative.” He urged bottling near rivers to avoid further depletion.

A Mercy Corps report in April 2025 found aquifer levels have dropped 25–30 metres in a decade, with extraction exceeding recharge by about 44 million cubic metres a year. 

It warned Kabul could run dry by 2030, displacing millions; nearly half of boreholes are already dry and up to 80% of groundwater is unsafe, while only about 20% of households have piped supply. 
Mercy Corps also reported some families spend up to 30% of income on water and many incur water-related debt.

In June, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said nearly one-third of Afghans still lack safe drinking water, with more than 10 million using unsafe sources. The European Union office in Afghanistan has voiced similar concerns and offered support.

Separately, Minister of Economy Qari Din Mohammad Hanif asked Japan and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to resume a US$24m Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded project to supply drinking water to New Kabul, which was suspended since December 2020.

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