Rawalpindi:
Twin Cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad continue to face a threatening water crisis, as all three large dams supplying water to the region experience critically low levels due to prolonged drought and 44% below average rainfall in the last 12 months.
With burning heat and rising temperatures that accelerate evaporation, the water level in rawal, khanpur and simple dams has fallen alarming. If no heavy pre-Monsun rainfall occurs by June 30, the water shortage could escalate into a serious crisis for both cities.
Rawal Dam, built in 1960, has a total storage capacity of 1,752 acre feet. It currently has 1,737 acre-feet water teams enough to meet the needs of Twin Cities for two months. The Khanpur dam, with a capacity of 1,982 acre feet, now has only 1,921 acre feet that is only sufficient for only one month of supply. Simly Dam, who only supplies Islamabad, has a storage capacity of 2,315 acre feet, but currently contains 2,249 Acre-feet for about two months.
Rawalpindi receives 23 million gallons of water daily from Rawal Dam and another six million gallons from Khanpur via Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA). Due to the lack of rainfall, underground water levels have also dropped drastically – between 750 and 800 feet in rawalpindi – with similar conditions in Islamabad. Most wells and pipe wells installed between 1990 and 2000 in Rawalpindi have now dried up and cut off the water supply from these sources.
WASA spokesman and director of administration Umar Farooq confirmed that the fall in the dam level is due to the ongoing drought. However, he assured the public that there is no reason to panic. “The season before the monsoon is expected to begin within two days, followed by the biggest monsoon season, which should cause heavy rain and help to refill the dams,” he said.
While recognizing the current water shortage, he excluded the possibility of a major crisis and noted that the agency in areas facing low water supply or functional pipe wells has initiated water supply through tankers. He urged residents to preserve water by avoiding wasting practices such as washing cars and watering lawns with hoses.
