Taher Galiyakotwala F.J., B.Sc (CET), is a teacher and Technical Manager at Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah (Sindh). He has studied civil engineering and project management, with a particular interest in practical problem-solving, sustainable systems, and the role of engineering in improving everyday processes. In this blog, he writes about how an everyday problem inspired him to create a prize-winning project at his University’s competition.
Walk around Karachi for a day, and you’ll notice water waste everywhere. A damaged pipe sends water into a roadside drain. A leaking tap continues to drip unattended. A reverse osmosis plant releases water hour after hour.
Small things. Everyday things, revealing how easily waste becomes part of the background of everyday life.
While studying at Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, I remember learning about our community leader, the 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, predecessor of His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, and the care he gave to even the smallest matters. He would personally switch off the corridor lights at his residence if they were left unattended.
At the time, I did not fully grasp the significance of such an act. Eventually, I came to realise what it represented: responsibility. Resources should not be wasted simply because the loss appears small or because no one is paying attention.
Reverse osmosis, commonly known as RO, is widely used in homes and buildings across Karachi to purify drinking water. The system separates purified water from a higher concentration of dissolved substances. While the purified water is collected for use, the rejected water is usually discharged.
Depending on the system, a considerable amount of water can be rejected during this process. In many cases, more water is discarded than collected.
This happens every day and in a city that struggles with water shortages every summer.
Could some of this rejected water be treated and reused rather than wasted?
As part of my final year project, I designed a filtration system using simple, and naturally available materials: coarse gravel to trap larger particles, garnet and silica sand for finer impurities, activated carbon to remove odours and chemicals, and duckweed — a small floating plant — to absorb what remained.
Layered together in the right way, that “waste” water could be treated and reused as feed water for RO systems.
The project won first place at my Uni, Ziauddin University’s, final year project competition.
Though grateful for the recognition, I am still chasing the result.
Water waste keeps happening, even as you read this. There is so much to still learn about the water system, and it requires responsibility.
Be it at an individual level or in collectives, water wastage is one of those things that happens subconsciously. I hope I am able to bring more conscious action to deter it where possible.