Overview
- Officials say Kabul’s water supply is in a critical state.
- An aid group’s 2025 assessment found aquifers dropped about 25–30 meters over the past decade.
- Households report brackish or dry wells and must buy trucked water many cannot afford.
- The government has curbed commercial pumping and built check dams, absorption wells and the Shah wa Arous Dam, yet supplies still fall short.
- A Panjshir River pipeline has about $130 million approved but needs another review before work can start, while the Shah Toot Dam lacks funding and would take six to seven years to build.