Khanpur Dam spillway opened first time this year

Water inflow in rain-fed reservoir to touch its maximum conservation level of 1,982 feet on Friday evening.

HARIPUR:

To ensure space for emergency inflow from monsoon rains in the Khanpur Dam, authorities opened the spillway on Friday, after it filled up to its maximum conservation level.

The spillway was opened for the first time this monsoon, compared to last year when surplus water measuring 125,000 cusecs was released 20 times due to heavy showers for the first time in the history of Khanpur Dam, Executive Engineer Khanpur Dam Muhammad Asim Rauf told The Express Tribune.

Owing to the two-day wet spell in the Khanpur Dam’s catchment area, including Murree, Ayubia and other hilly areas in upper Hazara, water inflow in the rain-fed reservoir will touch its maximum conservation level of 1,982 feet on Friday evening, leaving little space for emergency inflow. “Since there is forecast for more rainfall and rainwater from the recent showers is flowing to the reservoir, we have decided to operate the spillway at 1981.32 cusec feet,” Rauf said.

Rauf dispelled the fear that water released from Khanpur Dam would create problems for the downstream population in Punjab or Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2011.