Rawalpindi faces acute water crisis
As the summer begins and heatwave persists, residents of Rawalpindi city and cantonment areas are worried about bearing another spell of water scarcity as the mushroom growth of housing societies and rising population continue to exert extra pressure on this precious resource.
Despite repeated claims of the civic agencies' masters to ensure a smooth water supply, water shortage and water rationing continue to leave consumers at the mercy of the growing tanker mafia.
Name any area of the city, including Shah Nazar, Dhok Chiragh Din, Dhok Hassu, Ratta Amral, Dhok Ratta, Pir Wadhai, and one finds residents complaining of water scarcity or water rationing, with the supply and demand gap widening during summer.
No matter that civic agencies remain on their toes during the peak season to meet the water needs of residents, they also face unavoidable challenges like water availability, construction of new reservoirs and ample funding.
The Managing Director (MD) of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Muhammad Saleem Ashraf, says the Garrison city needs a total water supply of around 51 Million Gallons Daily (MGD) in winter, which is met through 480 tube-wells, Rawal Dam and Khanpur Dam. But, during summer, this demand rises to 70 MGD, so if the shortfall is around 7 MGD in winter, it rises to around 19 MGD in summer, he adds.
Saleem further says it is understood that water demand increases during summer, and all resources are employed to ensure that consumers' problems are addressed. In this regard, he mentioned ongoing work on a project "Developing Resilient Environment and Advancing Municipal Services (DREAMS-I)" project, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"The project's overall scope involves treatment and transportation of 14.5 MGD water from Chahan Dam to Rawalpindi city, besides improvement and replacement of the city's existing water supply system," he said. Saleem also referred to the rehabilitation and up-gradation of Rawal Lake filtration plants to supply an additional five MGD of water to the Garrison City.
"Similarly, two new heavy pumps are being installed at Khanpur Dam to increase water supply to eight MGD and provide a 24/7 water supply to consumers." He said the DREAMS project will be completed in two years instead of the stipulated period of three years, while work on Chahan Dam treatment plant has also been kicked off and is expected to provide 10 MGD of water to residents.
"Moreover, the feasibility study for Dadhocha Dam has been included in the Punjab Annual Development Plan and will hopefully provide 30.5 MGD to Pindi residents." However, he was sceptical of consumers' behaviour who least bother about water conservation practices. Therefore, the Punjab government had banned the setting up of new car washing stations across the province.
In compliance with the orders of the LHC, the Punjab EPA had imposed a ban on non-essential use of underground water and violators would be penalised accordingly.