KABUL, July 25 (Xinhua) -- In a city once renowned for its freshwater springs, lush gardens, and flowing streams, water is no longer a gift from the earth. It has become a treasure buried hundreds of meters deep, vanishing with each passing day.

Long before sunrise in the eastern stretches of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, hundreds of residents gather around a narrow pipe protruding from the dry, cracked ground. Clutching empty plastic barrels, they arrive with both hope and desperation. This is no ordinary well but a 300-meter-deep lifeline, drilled through layers of rock by the community after surface sources dried up.

"We have drilled a 300-meter-deep well here, shared by 300 families," said Ghulam Sakhi, a local resident. "We continue to face serious challenges due to the extreme scarcity of water in the area."

The challenges are stark. Dozens of people wait for hours at the single functioning tap, their buckets and barrels lined up in the dust. Under the scorching sun, the waiting often lasts for three to four hours. And still, many return home with barely enough water to drink, cook, or bathe.

"Some get water, and some don't," Sakhi told Xinhua, "Each person survives on just one barrel (about 10 liters) for two full days."

Among those affected was Hussein Ali, a 62-year-old father of six living in a remote part of Kabul.

Every few days, Ali walks several kilometers, pulling battered plastic barrels behind him in search of water. When he finally reaches the communal tap, the waiting line always stretches endlessly.

"People wait three, sometimes four hours just to get water," he told Xinhua. "Compared to last year, there has been at least a 50 percent drop in water availability here."

He pointed to the dry earth underfoot, land that once held water but now yields none. "Wells that used to reach water at 90 or 100 meters have completely dried up," he said.

According to a recent UN-Habitat report, Kabul is facing an unprecedented water crisis. Groundwater levels have dropped significantly, putting more than 6 million residents of Kabul at serious risk. The report warned that local efforts alone won't be enough to halt the downward spiral.

"Tackling this crisis requires large-scale investment, strong collaboration, and increased public awareness on water use and management," the report said.

Mawlawi Ghulam Rahman Kazem, general director of the urban water supply and sewage corporation, cited a long list of contributing factors, including decades of war, prolonged drought, climate change, rapid population growth, unregulated well drilling, and a severely outdated sewage system.

"We have 84 water sources in Kabul," Kazem told Xinhua. "Forty-six of them have already dried up due to climate change. The rest are vanishing too, day by day."

"With resources we currently have, we simply can not meet the needs of Kabul citizens."

According to a report published in May by Mercy Corps, an international development charity, Kabul's water crisis was nearing a tipping point. Groundwater extraction now dramatically exceeded natural recharge, and nearly half of the city's boreholes were already dry. Without immediate and coordinated intervention, Kabul could become the first modern capital to run out of water completely, the report warned.

Contamination adds another layer of urgency. Up to 80 percent of the city's groundwater was unsafe for consumption, with dangerously high levels of sewage, arsenic, and salinity, posing serious public health risks.

For now, families like Sakhi's and Ali's bear the burden in silence, walking, waiting, and rationing each precious drop. As the water sinks deeper and the waiting lines grow longer, the people of Kabul remain suspended in a daily struggle for survival.