KARACHI, July 3: Apprehending flash floods in the Hub Dam’s downstream area in the wake of a possible overflow of water from the dam’s reservoir, Wapda officials manning the dam have sent an SOS to the civil administrations of both Karachi and Balochistan. The authority has urged them to put in place preventive measures to save the lives and property of the people living in the dam’s 6,020-foot long spillway area.
“The water level in the Hub Dam’s reservoir had already jumped to 330RL (Reservoir Level) owing to the current monsoon rains. If the reservoir level reaches its maximum capacity of 339 feet, the water will start overflowing from its spillway towards the Arabian Sea,” the dam project’s resident engineer, Inamullah Khan, told Dawn on Tuesday.
“We are in constant touch with the officials of the civil administration, irrigation departments and district police officers concerned of both Karachi and Balochistan in case the water starts overflowing from the spillway,” he said, adding that the Balochistan police has already set up an early warning system at the dam.
Villagers warned
Through an advisory sent to both the Karachi and Balochistan administrations, the Wapda officials have requested the authorities to warn the people living in villages along the dam’s spillway to move to safer places.
However, the dam project’s resident engineer said that though very few people live in villages along the spillway, some people farm while others have set up crushing plants in the downstream area.
Dam nearly full
Asked if the dam’s reservoir could attain its full conservation capacity in a week, Mr Inam said that one cannot rule out this possibility because the reservoir, which has a history of receiving 14 feet of rainwater in a day, could get nine feet of water as the dam’s catchment area is quite vast, spreading over 3,410 square miles.
Cracks in canal
Water supply to the city and Lasbella from the Hub Dam is, at present, suspended since Sunday after cracks had developed in both the Hub and Lasbella canals.
Repair work was progressing satisfactorily and the supply of water from the dam to both Karachi and Lasbella is expected to be restored on Wednesday.
