TAXILA: The water level at Khanpur Dam has dropped to just 10ft above ‘dead level’. The dam now holds a 30-day water supply for its beneficiaries, particularly Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for civic use and irrigation.

Khanpur Dam executive engineer Taj Ali told Dawn on Wednesday that due to low rainfall in the dam’s catchment area, the water had reached an alarming low level of 1,920.05ft, just 10ft higher than the dead level of 1,910ft.

If there are no monsoon rains in the next couple of weeks and the water level does not increase in the near future, he said, authorities fear the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) may be asked to ration water.

Supply will be suspended entirely if water falls to dead level, dam official says

He said the supply to Punjab and KP’s irrigation departments would have to be curtailed further to cope with the demands of municipal authorities, particularly the CDA and RCB.

In response to a question, he said water for irrigation purposes was not suspended in Punjab in order to save standing crops and fruit orchards that need water in such weather conditions.

This is the first time the irrigation water supply has not been suspended despite a fall in the dam’s water level, he added.

Mr Ali said the reservoir, which has a daily requirement of 219 cusecs per day receives just 52 cusecs. Outflow is recorded at 105 cusecs per day to beneficiaries that include the CDA, RCB, the Punjab and KP irrigation departments, the University of Engineering and Technology, Heavy Industries Rawalpindi and cement factories.

The declining water supply has led the dam to reduce its supply to Rawalpindi, Islamabad and KP for civic and irrigation purposes; the supply to Islamabad has been reduced from 70 to 60 cusecs per day. If inflow does not increase, the water supply for municipal services will be curtailed further from July 15.

Dam geologist Irfan Khan Khattak said there has been a massive decrease in the inflow of water due to the prevailing hot and dry weather and absence of any major rainfall in the catchment areas.

The present water level of 1,920ft is the lowest the water level has fallen in two decades, he said, and warned that the water supply would be suspended entirely to all beneficiaries if the water falls to dead level.

In response to a question, Mr Khattak said the last time the spillways were opened to let out extra water was April 8, 2016.

In addition to the lack of water in the dam, the Haro River, which is the main feeding river for the dam, appears dry as well.

At Khanpur, the dam bed and underwater rocks have become visible at many points, and dam authorities have warned of a severe water crisis in the twin cities as the dam dries up due to the prolonged dry spell.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2018