KARACHI: Hub dam gets 1-year stock for Karachi - Two-day rain
By Azizullah Sharif
KARACHI, Feb 13: The city will continue to receive around 90 million gallons of water from Hub dam for an extra 12-month period as the reservoir's water level has gone up by 3.5 feet
following two days of rains across its catchment area, City Nazim Niamatullah Khan, who visited the dam on Sunday, was told by a Wapda official.
The dam's 3,410 square-mile catchment area had started receiving rainwater since early Friday and by Sunday evening, the reservoir level had already risen to 316.8 feet as against 313.4 feet recorded on Thursday, Wapda's Resident Engineer for Hub dam project Inamullah Khan stated in a briefing to the nazim on the positive impact of the rain.
The nazim, who was accompanied by KWSB Managing Director Brig Iftikhar Haider, told reporters at the site that the later had assured him of proper management of the stocked water. He quoted the KWSB MD as saying that the city's supplies would be managed in a manner that the available quantity of water could last about two years.
Brig Haider told reporters that the K-III project, meant for supplying an additional 100 mgd to Karachi after its completion in about one year, would also help the KWSB in conserving the Hub dam water.
Mr Muslim Pervez, Senior Presiding Officer of the City Council, Mr Israr Zaidi, Deputy MD (Technical) of the KWSB, and Ali Mohammad Palejo, Chief Engineer (Bulk Supply), were also present on the occasion.
Brig Haider informed the nazim that almost all the localities hooked to the Hub dam source would start getting filtered water from June this year when the Hub Filter and Treatment Plant would be made operational.
These localities include Qasba, Mianwali Colony, SITE (both residential and industrial areas) and the sprawling townships of Baldia, Orangi, Surjani and North Karachi.
Responding to the Wapda official's complain that neither the government of Sindh nor that of Balochistan had been paying the operation and maintenance cost of the dam, the nazim said that it was beyond his comprehension that why the cost amount was being demanded from the provincial governments. In this regard, he contended that all other dams in the country were being maintained and operated by Wapda itself.
During his visit to the dam's 6,020-feet spillway, the nazim was informed that water from the dam's 30-sqm reservoir would start overflowing after crossing its full capacity mark of 339 feet.
The surplus water would flow into the Arabian Sea through the spillway which has been designed to stand a discharge of 458,000 cusecs. Such a situation had been witnessed first in 1984 and then in 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, and 2003.
Niamatullah Khan emphasized the need for constructing another small dam adjacent to the Hub dam's spillway for storing the surplus water going waste whenever the reservoir level crosses the full capacity mark.
Wapda's chief engineer recalled that a huge amount of Rs52 million had to be spent when the dam's spillway had sustained damage due to the heavy discharge in July 2003.
When asked whether any rains falling in Karachi would increase Hub dam's reservoir level, the Wapda official replied in negative, saying that the reservoir would receive rainwater only from its catchment area comprising the Kirthar National Park, Saruna, Duraji and Shah Noorani.
