Even before this year's catastrophic flooding, Pakistan faced major problems in managing its scarce water resources -- and those challenges are now even greater, says Ken Verosub, distinguished professor of geology at UC Davis.

Verosub recently completed a year as a Jefferson fellow in the U.S. State Department, where he worked on water issues with a focus on Pakistan. Almost all of Pakistan's water is used for farming, although the country's urban population is increasing rapidly, Verosub said.

The irrigation methods in use are wasteful; the distribution system is old, deteriorating and likely has been severely damaged by floods; and groundwater is being depleted by pumping from wells.

Contact: Ken Verosub, klverosub@ucdavis.edu (Verosub is currently a visiting scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va., and can best be reached by e-mail).