Glacier melt boosts water levels in rivers, reservoirs

ISLAMABAD:

Water levels in major rivers and reservoirs continued to improve on Wednesday as rising temperatures in the northern mountainous regions accelerated glacier melt, while authorities expressed optimism that the expected monsoon rains would further boost inflows and strengthen water storage across the country.

Officials said the gradual increase in river flows had improved the availability of water in major reservoirs, with the combined live storage in Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma reaching 3.403 million acre-feet. They added that water levels were expected to continue rising in the coming weeks as monsoon rains gather momentum.

According to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), 375,800 cusecs of water flowed into the river system on Wednesday, while 300,700 cusecs were released from various rim stations. At Tarbela Dam, the water level stood at 1,453.07 feet, or 51.07 feet above the dead level of 1,402 feet, with live storage of 1.111 million acre-feet. Water inflow into the reservoir was recorded at 226,500 cusecs, while outflow stood at 150,300 cusecs.

At Mangla Dam, the water level reached 1,162.85 feet, which was 112.85 feet above its dead level of 1,050 feet. The reservoir held 2.243 million acre-feet of live storage, while inflow and outflow were recorded at 37,600 cusecs and 38,700 cusecs, respectively.

At Chashma Reservoir, the water level stood at 641.30 feet, with live storage of 49,000 acre-feet. Chashma Barrage recorded an inflow of 205,000 cusecs and an outflow of 203,000 cusecs, reflecting improved flows through the Indus system.

Elsewhere, water inflow into the Chenab River at Head Marala was recorded at 63,700 cusecs, while 36,900 cusecs were released downstream. At Nowshera, both inflow and outflow in the Kabul River stood at 48,000 cusecs.

Irsa data also showed water releases of 200,800 cusecs at Kalabagh, 163,200 cusecs at Taunsa, 101,100 cusecs at Guddu and 41,200 cusecs at Sukkur.