Monsoon rains: For twin cities’ residents, no more water woes till 2014

High rainfall has created surplus water supply in Rawal Dam.


Sehrish Wasif August 20, 2013
The Rawal Dam spillway has been opened for the third time this year. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


The monsoon has brought good news for the residents of twin cities as according to officials monitoring the Rawal Dam, the rains have dispelled fears of water shortages in the region for the rest of the year.


Talking to The Express Tribune, Rawal Dam Sub-divisional Officer Bilal Rana said this year’s monsoon brought some exceptionally heavy rain in the region filling up the Rawal Dam. “The maximum storage capacity of Rawal Dam is 37,000 acre feet which has been attained this year and it is expected that this volume of water will cater to the needs of the residents of the twin cities for the rest of the year.”



Last year the twin cities did not receive enough rain which resulted in a severe water shortage, said Rana. “Every day, 24 million gallons (mg) of water is released to Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), which last year was reduced to three million a day due to water scarcity,” he said. “Last year we did not open the spillways of Rawal Dam but we have done it thrice this year to release excess water to create a cushion for the future.”

“It’s unfortunate that every year around 40 million acre feet of water goes waste due to lack of dams for storage,” he stated. The surplus water flows in to the Arabian Sea through the Indus River, but dams can help conserve it for use during the dry season for irrigation and to generate electricity, he said.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a Small Dams Organisation official requesting anonymity said Islamabad cannot overcome water shortages unless the concerned departments fix leaking pipes. “No matter how much water is stored in Rawal Dam, without repairing leaking water pipes, water woes cannot come to an end,” said the official. There is a need to create more awareness among residents of the twin cities to save water, especially during March and April.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2013.

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