KARACHI, July 21: Despite water level in the Hub Dam’s reservoir shooting up to the point of 314 RL(Reservoir Level), neither Karachi nor Lasbela will be able to receive more than 40 million gallons of water from the source mainly due to the dilapidated condition of both the canals — Hub canal and Karachi water supply canal.

The reservoir is just 25RL short of the full supply level which, too, it is likely to attain in a matter of days due to the constant input from the reservoir’s catchment areas.

Although the dam’s sluice gate has a designed capacity of releasing a maximum of 370 cusecs (200mgd), Karachi cannot fetch more than 40mgd from the Hub source because the aqua-duct pillars of the Wapda’s 5.2 mile long main Hub canal have got rusted while 14 mile long Karachi water supply canal has developed a number of cracks.

Wapda had handed over Karachi water supply canal to Sindh government in 2000. But since then, the canal has not been maintained properly and as a result, it has developed cracks while silt and sediments have deposited in large quantities along its course.

Had the both the canals been maintained properly, the concerned authorities not only could have averted the imminent threat of spillage from the dam’s 6,020 feet long spillway, but would also be able to supply more water from the source to meet the requirement of water-starved townships of the former district West.

“Isn’t it an irony that we will not be able to draw more than 40mgd water even after the reservoir attained its full supply level of 339RL?” wondered the concerned officials.

The dam’s spillway had earlier overflowed up to seven feet in 1995 due to which people residing in villages all along the downstream of the dam, has suffered a lot.

The dam’s reservoir level is going up to touch the mark of 339RL as rain water is still flowing into it from the 3,410 square mile catchment area — comprising Dadu district, Kirthar National Park, Saruna, Duraji and Shah Noorani area (Balochistan).

The Wapda officials are of the view that the pillars of Hub canal’s aqua-ducts have rusted to such an extent that they might collapse if more than 40mgd of water was released to the canal.

Similarly, the precarious condition of the Karachi water supply canal can be gauged from the fact that a huge quantity of more than 10mgd goes waste, mainly due to seepage and pilferage, while the water passes through it.

Officials of Wapda claim that they are currently releasing between 30 and 32mgd to Karachi whereas those of the city government’s water and sanitation department say that they are getting merely 19.2mgd at the Hub pumping station. This means that around 11mgd is lost while on way to the receiving end.

Sources said that the heavy loss would continue to occur unless the canal’s cracks were repaired and wild growth/sediments removed from its course.

It had been brought to the knowledge of the relevant authorities in May that such a problem could be created in the monsoon, but no timely measures were taken to strengthen the Hub Canals’ aqua-duct pillars and patching the cracks in Karachi canal’s embankments.

The irony of the fact is that such works had not be undertaken even after the Sindh Minister for Planning and Development, Shoaib Bukhari, wrote a letter to the governor and chief minister of Sindh requesting them to take up the issue with their Balochistan counterparts.

Water to Karachi and Lasbela from the Hub source is first released to the Hub main canal from where it passes through the 14 mile Karachi water supply canal and 21 mile Lasbela branch canal before reaching its destinations.

The Hub main canal is maintained by Wapda, the Karachi water supply canal by the water and sanitation department and Lasbela branch canal by the Balochistan government.

According to the Wapda officials manning the Hub dam project, works pertaining to the strengthening of Hub canal’s aqua-duct pillars had been delayed because the governments of both the provinces had failed to contribute their share for the required works.

The officials maintained that they would not take the risk of releasing above 40-mgd water to Karachi as long as repairs, as well as desilting work, were carried out.