Poisoning Rawal Lake

Rawal Lake that lies between Islamabad and Rawlpindi is in an idyllic setting. It is popular as a picnic spot and has a range of recreational facilities — and it has become poisoned. The water has turned an unhealthy yellowish colour and green algae and other vegetation can be seen floating on the surface. The continuous flow of contaminants into the lake, which is the principal source of drinking water for the residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, has upset the chemical balance of the water it contains. There are high levels of nitrogen, nitrates and phosphorus that all contribute to the growth of algae and kill off the natural flora and fauna in the lake and on its banks. It has become a vector for waterborne diseases, which include hepatitis and cholera. The smell of the water of the lake has become unpleasant — clean water should have little or no smell — particularly at the site of the main filtration plant close to Chak Shahzad.

The reason for the pollution is clear enough. Residential garbage, effluents from the Diplomatic Enclave, solid and liquid wastes from buffalo sheds and poultry farms on the Murree Hills above it and wastes from the communities of Shahadra village, the Bari Imam Complex Bani Gala and Quaid-e-Azam University all contribute to the degradation of a crucial resource. This is to the despair of the Environmental Protection Agency, which lays the blame squarely at the door of the civic authorities responsible for the running of the twin cities. They have collectively failed to finalise a PC1 for the cleaning of the Rawal Lake and the problem is magnified by the late arrival of winter rains that would produce run-off water from the hills and ‘flush the system’. Rawal Lake has become poisoned because of the chronic long-term ineptitude of the bodies charged with its stewardship. Short-term measures such as the plugging of illegal sewer lines have proved ineffective — mainly because residents of the area have unplugged them again. Time to clean up your act, CDA.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th,  2014.

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