Taxila: A water crisis on the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad as the water level has decreased in the Khanpur dam and available water can meet the needs of its beneficiaries for only 35 days.
The rocks and mounds have become visible in different parts of the deposit, especially in the main storage site and the landfills, which speaks volume on the impacts of climatic changes and the alarming reduction in the water table. If heavy rain does not occur in the next 10 to 15 days, the water level is expected to fall drastically to the dead level.
The authorities said that the area of capture of the dam, which included Margalla Hills and Galiyat, had not received enough rain, worsening the situation.
The authorities of the dam feared that they have to suspend the water supply for irrigation to the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in addition to reducing the supply of drinking water to Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The authorities say they would have to suspend the supply for irrigation purposes in addition to reducing the supply of drinking water to Rawalpindi, Islamabad
They said that currently the water in the reservoir was available only for about 35 days if there is no rainy spell in its collection areas.
A WAPDA official told him Sunrise On Tuesday, the water level in the dam was 1,935 above the average sea level (AMSL), which was only 25 feet higher than the dead level of 1.910 amsl.
He said that due to the low rains in the areas of capture of the dam and a persistent dry spell, the springs in the collection areas had dried. The entrance was recorded on Tuesday at just 82 Cusecs and departure 235 Cusecs per day.
He added that 90 Cusec per day were supplied to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and 6.18 CUSECs to other civic organizations and small beneficiaries, including the University of Engineering and Technology Taxila. He said that 48 Cusecs per day were also released to the Irrigation Department of KP and 42 Cusecs daily to Punjab for Irrigation.
He said that due to the persistent situation, the authorities had planned to suspend the water supply to KP and Punjab for irrigation purposes next week.
On the other hand, WASA has implemented a “water control plan” to administer the crisis, which includes repressions in the theft of water, sanctions for the delinquents of the water invoice and the restrictions in the non -essential use of water. The authorities warned that without significant rain in the next 10 to 15 days, the water level could fall to the critical level, possibly exacerbating the situation.
The WASA sources said a water rationing plan for implementation in the second half of May had prepared. The managing director of WASA, Mohammad Salem Ashraf, said the daily demand for water in Rawalpindi had reached more than 50 million gallons, but the supply was only 30 million gallons, creating a significant daily deficit of 20 million gallons.
The dam is located near Potohar Plateau and the people of Khanpur in KP, about 40 km from Islamabad and 15 km from Haripur. The dam serves the supplies of domestic water in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, in addition to supplying water to the agricultural and industrial areas surrounding the twin cities.
Posted in Dawn, May 7, 2025
