ISLAMABAD: The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that it was forced to cut water supply to the capital by 50pc.

“The rationing became necessary after water levels in both the Simly and Khanpur dams dropped significantly. Now until the monsoon rains refill the dams, water rationing is likely to continue,” MCI’s Water Supply Director Nasir Jamil Nasir Jamil told the Senate Committee on Climate Change.

He said water levels in both the dams had dropped by over 30 feet. He attributed the less winter rains, which recharge the capital’s water sources, to the warm spell due to global changes in weather patterns.

The committee met for a briefing on food security in Pakistan from the impacts of global warming and took up the water shortage issue after a large number of complaints were received from the residents of different sectors of Islamabad.

MCI says it was forced to cut water supply by 50pc as water levels in Simly and Khanpur dams dropped significantly

Climate Change Secretary Syed Abu Ahmed Akif complained that there was not a drop of water in his F-6.

“We have been at the mercy of water tankers for many days,” he told the committee. Senator Sitara Ayaz of the ANP and Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed of the PML expressed shock over the shortage of water in Islamabad. They urged the chairman of the committee, Senator Mir Mohammad Yousaf Badini, for dedicated a meeting on Islamabad’s water crisis.

Nonetheless, Nasir Jamil explained to the committee that water in the Simly Dam was down to 2,356 feet compared to 2,286 last year while the water level in Khanpur Dam was down to 1,925 feet compared to 1,955 feet last year.

“The draw down has also been noticed up to 25 to 30 feet in ground water source reducing yield of tubewells,” he told the committee.

According to the official, out of the 192 tubewells 42 were out of order due to a lack of maintenance. While 20 will likely become functional within a month, the remaining tubewells have become obsolete.

He said due to these reasons, the MCI had to resort to rationing to prolong the usage of water up to the monsoon in accordance with the dam standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The secretary climate change proposed that the government should charge residents for mining ground water. “This will discourage the wastage of water and develop a sense of importance to conserve it.”

Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz told the committee that a pipeline was being laid to bring water from the Indus River System for Islamabad and Rawalpindi. “Work is in progress on the pipeline. Once completed, the twin cities will have 100 million gallons water per day each,” he said. The meeting learnt that the pipeline project could take up to four years to complete.

Food security

The Ministry of Climate Change warned of threat to food security and scarcity of water in the future from impacts of global warming.

“Production of wheat has dropped by 15pc due to a shift in the monsoon season. Monsoons have shifted some 100 kilometres above agriculture plains, higher towards the northern areas. Climate change will have far reaching effects on Pakistan’s overall economy,” Director General Ministry of Climate Change Irfan Tariq told the committee.

According to Mr Tariq, temperatures in the South Asian region would rise faster compared to the global temperature.

“We are looking at more than one degree increase in temperature in this region. Pakistan, which is already a water-starved nation, is heading to become a water scarce country due to the increase in global temperature,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2017