Storage to be improved to tackle water woes

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has decided to increase the use and storage capacity of surface water i.e. dam and river water to
deal with the expected acute water crisis in next year’s summer season.

The decision has been taken in the backdrop of an alarming fall in the ground-water level to 750 feet and a continuous decline in the flow of water in tube wells.

Under this project, the water storage capacity of Rawal Dam will be increased in the first phase. Three enormous water tanks will be constructed on 100 kanal of vacant land adjacent to the Water and Sanitation Agency colony next to Rawal Dam.

Similarly, large water tanks will also be built on a part of the 5,000 kanal land owned by WASA near the Gorakhpur River.

Meanwhile, the bed of the Rawal Dam will be cleaned to increase its water storage capacity and the services of international companies will be hired for this project. The Rawal Dam was built in 1965 and has since not been properly cleaned. A large amount of soil and sediment has accumulated in it.

Large water tanks will be built in the second phase of the project next to the spillways of the Rawal Dam and by opening the spillways of the dam, the bulk of the water will be collected in these water tanks instead of going to waste. Gorakhpur is also the catchment area of the Swan River.

This property belongs to WASA. It is also proposed to build three to four large water tanks here.

Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chairman Tariq Murtaza said that the authority’s Daduchha Dam and Chahan Dam projects were already ongoing, but their completion would take more time.

“Currently, the underground water level has fallen to an alarming extent of 750 feet and the rate of decline is increasing due to climate change. Due to this, around 450 tube wells of WASA are getting dry or are providing less water,” he said.

“This is worsening the water scarcity crisis, with nearly half of WASA’S tube wells at risk of closure if the groundwater level falls by more than 800 feet. So, we urgently need surface dams and river water,” he said.

The WASA has expedited work on the preparation of the working paper for this project. The RDA chairman said that he would take the
working papers to Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi in Lahore and after getting his immediate approval, he will get it implemented after getting its study completed in three weeks.

“Delaying this will be an injustice to the citizens of Rawalpindi. Therefore, with the approval of the chief minister, a consultant will be hired for the project immediately,” he said and added that the authority wanted to start the project at the beginning of the New Year and complete it by May 31 before the start of next summer.

The RDA chairman went on to explain that the rainwater during heavy downpours goes to waste, therefore, an underground water tank will be constructed at the vacant site of WASA office in Liaquat Bagh to store it too.

“If surface water is not arranged in the next two or three years, a serious water crisis will arise in the twin cities."