There are various threats and problems to the water resources and their management in this region. Some of them can be enumerated as follows:

- Demand: According to government estimates, the population of Pakistan is expected to grow by 2.1 % over the next 25 years. The population of the Northern Areas is set to grow even faster, that is, by 2.5% per annum. This means that the water availability for agriculture needs to grow by at least 30% in the next ten years just to maintain the present level of usage per capita. Within the domestic sector increase in demand will be higher, that is, almost 50% over the next decade, because of accelerated urbanization and increased domestic water usage in rural communities (GoP & IUCN, 2003). The town of Gilgit itself is expected to reach almost 200,000 by the year 2020 (Raza, 2002).

Therefore if proper management of water and development of additional water resources is not adequately carried out, there could be a perceptible shortage of this resource with serious implications for the economy of the region.

- Pollution: Increasing pollution is threatening the water supply of the region. This increase is coming from the pressure of population increase. As mentioned before, water in the towns and villages is generally not potable except where well water is used or where interventions have reduced contamination. For example, two of the major water channels that are the source of drinking water to the town of Gilgit have become open sewers from the effluent and other human-generated waste running into it. Here many houses situated along the water channels dump their garbage right into the channels due to lack of proper disposal facilities.

In rural areas also, the pollution of water channels is a problem. Raza (1997) has catalogued the fecal content of tranditional water channels in area villages and this has been discussed earlier in this report.

Water pollution is also increasing from increased chemical fertilizer use in the region. For example, in the Gilgit district almost 93% of the farmers now use chemical fertilizers.

- Less water for nature: Growth in water demand not only poses a challenge to people, but also has repercussions for the natural ecosystems. Water abstraction for human use is already six times greater than it was 50 years ago. Natural aquatic systems like rivers, streams and wetlands could come under stress. Although there is no data or research to show how much water is needed for the health of these systems, yet there is evidence that the threshold for sustainable water diversion may already have been exceeded in certain areas (GoP & IUCN, 2003). This, if not checked, could result in negative impacts on the ecology of the Northern Areas.