Augmenting misery: At the peak of summer, power outages worsen water shortage

CDA chief says situation to improve in two, three days.

ISLAMABAD:

At the height of the summer season, scarcity of water, exacerbated by prolonged power outages, has come back to haunt the capital’s residents.

Though the population is growing at an exponential rate, the capital’s civic agency has done little to increase water supply to keep pace with rising demand. The capital’s population is 1.757 million at present which is likely to increase to 4.443 million in 2050, according to Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) website.

In Islamabad, the main source of water are the reservoirs built at Simly and Khanpur dams and a network of around 188 tube wells, out of which some 40 are out of order, as aquifers in the capital territory are shallow and scattered.

A peak cumulative water production from these three sources is 84 million gallons per day (MGD), which drops to 50-60 MGD during summer season. CDA estimates the average demand to be 176 MGD, while a shortage of 106 MGD, confronts residents most of the year.

Islamabad faces a major crunch during summer and pre-monsoon seasons, when water is rationed, people throng complaint centres and clamour for water tankers, a facility CDA cannot provide in most cases. People in Rawalpindi city and cantonment suffer in equal measure as they depend on Rawal Lake and share the water supply from Khanpur Dam.

Current water supply

A senior official of the CDA water management wing said they were currently drawing 23 MGD water from Simly Dam and five MGD from Khanpur Dam. Simly Dam has an optimum storage capacity of 2,315 feet above sea level. CDA draws around 26-28 MGD from tube wells but due to load shedding it has been reduced to 16-18 MGD.

Water-scarce sectors

There is currently no shortage in areas where the water is supplied from Simly and Khanpur dams. H and I sectors, which solely depend on tube wells, are the worst hit. Water to residents of these sectors is supplied through water tankers.

CDA has a fleet of 38 water tankers but 15 of them are either not roadworthy or out of order. The remaining 23 are not in good condition. CDA’s inquiry offices in both sectors collectively receive over 1,100 complaints a day, most of which are unaddressed.

CDA Chairman Tahir Shahbaz, while talking to The Express Tribune said, “I’ve directed the finance wing to prepare a summary for purchase of generators, which will be installed at tube wells at an emergency meeting at CDA Headquarters.” Additionally, CDA Member Finance has approved the immediate release of Rs6 million for maintenance of tankers.

The situation aggravated due to prolonged load shedding, but owing to these steps the situation would improve within two to three days, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2013.