LAHORE: The water level in the country’s two major reservoirs -- Tarbela and Mangla -- has declined further due to climate change and dry weather persisting since January.

The minimum operating level and maximum water conservation capacity of the Tarbela dam are 1392 feet and 1550 feet, respectively. Its present water level recorded on Wednesday morning was 1406.02 feet, with live storage recorded as 0.187million acre feet (MAF). On March 4, the level was 1409.52 feet, showing 3.5 feet decline within last 13 days.

The situation is alarming in Mangla Dam where the water level on Wednesday was 1104.50 feet, down from 1130.95 feet on March 4, reflecting 26.45 feet decline in the water level. The live storage capacity of the reservoir was 0.467 MAF on Wednesday. The dam’s minimum operating level and the maximum storage capacity are 1050 feet and 1242 feet, respectively.

According to the Water and Power Development Authority, the inflows and outflows of Indus at Tarbela were 20,800 cusecs and 12,000 cusec, respectively, followed by 16,100 cusec inflows and 16100 cusec outflows in river Kabul at Nowshera, 26,400 cusec inflows and 40,000 cusec outflows in Jhelum at Mangla and 8200 cusec inflows and 1500 cusec outflows in Chenab at Marala.

“The inflows and outflows of Indus at Tarbela, Jinnah and Chashma, River Kabul at Nowshera and River Jhelum at Mangla have been reflected as mean flows of 24 hours,” reads the Wapda report.

The water levels in Tarbela and Mangla in the same month last year were at 1438.13 feet, 1167.35 feet, respectively. Likewise, the water level average in the last five and 10 years recorded in these reservoirs remained as 1415.48 feet and 1415.66 feet and 1107.09 feet and 1102.85 feet, respectively.

Talking to Dawn, a spokesman for the Indus River Systems Authority (IRSA) said despite ongoing dry weather, the authority had 0.7 million acre feet water in both reservoirs at present. “Due to dry weather, we have reduced our carryover water estimates,” Irsa spokesman Muhammad Khalid Rana said. He hoped the situation would improve in Jhelum in next 10 days. The met office says February 2021 was one of the warmest and driest month for Pakistan with 84 per cent below normal rainfall. Similarly, January 2021 rainfall was 59pc below normal.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2021