THE Darawat Dam — a project for the rain-fed areas of Jamshoro and Thatta districts — was completed in 2013. But it has still not been filled to a level where it could release water to irrigate 25,000 acres under its command area because of lower-than-required rainfall.

Some issues, like the distribution of water and rights of lower riparian, need to be considered by the Sindh government. While the dam has been built in Jamshoro, its command area is in Thatta district.

The dam’s site is basically a spate-irrigation area where water flows are received from Nai Baran (a hill torrent), which emanates from the lower Kirthar mountain range in Balochistan’s Bella district. The dam is currently filled up to 40ft and requires another 19.5ft of water to be able to feed its main canal and distributaries. It has a maximum storage capacity of 85ft and can store 121,600 acre feet of water, says project director Gul Mohammad Junejo.

Adequate rainfall was not reported for the last two years in its catchments, stretching over an area of 3,151km2. Around 185mm of rainfall in 24 hours is needed to fill the dam. The land to be brought under cultivation in the spate area has also not been largely surveyed.

Over the years, climate change-induced rainfall has made the cultivation of crops somewhat difficult. Given this scenario, the Darawat Dam — conceived under the last PPP government and built by Wapda — is supposed to be a good opportunity for the farming community to cultivate land that is to be distributed among the landless female peasantry. So far, 25 acres each have been allotted to 25 women.

But since the land has not been surveyed, the actual number of allottees who have taken possession of the land with the necessary documentation is not known. In view of a court directive, the land distribution programme has also come to a halt.

Wapda has created 63 outlets which are connected with one off-taking canal, one minor and three distributaries for onward water distribution

The command area is yet to be developed by the provincial irrigation department through the Sindh Small Dams Organisation, which is currently headed by Abdul Rehman Nizamani. No one knows how this command area will be managed if the remaining 19.5ft of water storage in the dam is achieved in case of heavy rainfall.

According to the project director, Wapda would eventually hand over the dam to the irrigation department. Wapda has created 63 outlets that are connected with one off-taking canal, one minor and three distributaries for onward water distribution. On average, 397 acres of land will be brought under cultivation in each of the 63 water outlets. Roughly 10 landowners would share water from each watercourse.

Junejo promises that once the dam is filled, the stored water will be sufficient for the cultivation of crops on 25,000 acres in both the summer and winter seasons for the next four years. While downstream water users wait for their turn, their upper counterparts cultivate crops by pumping water.

There is a separate outlet for releasing water for tail-end users to enable them to cultivate land in case there is absolutely no rainfall in the catchments. Spate flows are those in which hill torrents or water from springs and rainfall irrigate the land. The farming community diverts water from one field to another by raising earthen embankments to retain soil moisture.

An old study by the National Engineering Services of Pakistan found that close to 1.4m acres of land could be brought under spate irrigation in Sindh.

Dr Bukhshal Lashari, project director at the Mehran University’s Centre for Advanced Studies in Water, says he has learnt that high-efficiency irrigation systems like drip and sprinklers will be promoted in the dam’s command area. But it is unclear how farmers will avail this technology.

The agriculture department is also yet to come forward with recommendations as to what kinds of crops are best suited for this area.

A spate irrigation expert, Karim Nawaz, says it is time to focus on land-levelling and to determine the potential for livestock farming and agricultural growth.

“Ever since the dam has been built, the downstream users have been deprived of regular spate flows that travel up to 30-40km. The storage of water in artificial lakes or the dam’s reservoir can still affect the quality of the soil in adjacent lands.”

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, December 21st, 2015