KWSB to resume supply as Hub Dam level touches 300ft mark

Citizens had to face acute shortage of water as dam had reached dead level before rainfall

KARACHI: The recent spell of rains in Balochistan has raised the level of water in the Hub Dam up to 300 feet, making it possible for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to resume the supply of water to the city.

According to the KWSB's officials, who asked not to be named, the board will start supplying water from the dam over the next few days. At the current level, up to 70 million gallons of water per day can be supplied to the city for the next one year.

At its optimal, the Hub Dam supplies 63% of its capacity, which comes to 100mgd, to Karachi's District West, as well as North Karachi and New Karachi which fall in District Central. The remaining 37% of the water is supplied to Lasbella.



Glad tidings

The rise in the dam's level comes as a welcome relief for the citizens of districts West and Central, who had been facing acute shortage of water over the last several years due to scarcity of rainfall the Hub Dam's catchment areas.

There are concerns, however, that a considerable volume of the water to be supplied to Karachi will be lost in leakages from the Hub Canal, which is the main line connecting the dam to the pumping station.

Repairs needed

Around 10 days ago, when the water level had reached 279 feet, the kWSB had refused to supply the water to Karachi, citing leakages in the Hub Canal. "The Hub Canal is in a very bad state and a lot of water would be wasted through the leakages," Saleem Ahmed, the chief engineer of the KWSB's main trunk line, had told The Express Tribune.

According to Ahmed, the KWSB had decided to start the repair work as soon as possible so that, come monsoon season when the Hub Dam was filled to capacity, they could start supplying the optimal 100mgd of water. He had added that tenders had been sought for the repair work of the Hub Canal and the KWSB was trying its best to get the repairs completed before the monsoon rains.

Ahmed's stance had been corroborated by Muhammad Ahtesham, who is the project director of the Water and Power Development Authority at the Hub Dam, who had told The Express Tribune that the KWSB had refused to take water due to leaks in the canal, which is why the WAPDA was supplying 22mgd of water to Lasbella.



Go-ahead given

When these contradictions were pointed out to a KWSB engineer, he said that the KWSB MD had already given directives to carry out the repair work. The maintenance, he said, would be carried out in phases and water would be re-routed from the part of the main line which was under repair at the time.

The engineer, who asked not to be named, said that the KWSB will begin supplying 70mgd of water to Karachi over the next few days.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2019.