KARACHI: The Hub dam, located 56 kilometers from Karachi, on Sunday reached capacity and finally overflowed due to the ongoing spell of monsoon rains in Balochistan.

The water level of the dam, that provides 100 million gallons of water per day to the city, was recorded at 339.5 feet in the morning and by the evening it rose to nearly 340 leading to opening of spillway of the reservoir.

An official of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board told Dawn that the dam’s level was 322 feet before the start of monsoon rains in Balochistan and its level had already rose close to its maximum capacity of 340 feet.

“Now the reservoir has got enough water and Karachi will be supplied with 100 million gallons of water per day for the next three years,” he added.

Reservoir provides 100 MGD to Karachi

Improve water supply

The KW&SB official said that the increase in water level of the Hub dam would improve the water supply in parts of Orangi Town, Baldia and other adjoining areas of district West.

He said that the spillway of the Hub Dam was opened after the water level in the reservoir.

The KW&SB official said that the water level in Hub Dam had risen to 338 feet last week.

“The spillway of the reservoir is opened after the water level in the reservoir reaches 339 feet,” he added.

Earlier, the dam’s water level had risen to its maximum capacity of 340 feet after almost 13 years in 2020.

With a total capacity of 339 feet, the dam is extended to 24,300 acres with a gross storage capacity of 8,57,000 acre-feet water.

Sources said that Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had already issued an alert to the residents of nearby areas warning them to take extra precautions.

They said that water was being discharged from the spillway of the waterworks to the Hub River, the natural boundary between Sindh and Balochistan, while general public was not being allowed to visit the dam and the river.

Reports also suggested that a number of stuck people had been evacuated in the catchment area of the Hub River which was spread thousands of kilometers in Sindh and Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2022