RAWALPINDI: Amid a prolonged dry spell, the main reservoirs – Rawal and Khanpur dams – which supply water to the garrison city will only be able to supply water to the city for the next three months, and the city managers might have to implement a ‘water rationing formula’ if there is no rain in the next month.

The last time heavy rain lashed the twin cities was on November 9, whereas light rain occurred in December, but it did not raise the water level in the dams. Due to a prolonged dry spell, Islamabad and Rawalpindi may face water shortages in the coming days.

In Rawalpindi’s city areas, the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) receives 10 million gallons daily (MGD) from Rawal Dam, 6 MGD from Khanpur Dam, and 35 MGD from 500 tube wells installed in the various areas. The total demand for water in the city in the summer season is 68 MGD.

According to the official at the Khanpur Dam, at present, the water level in the dam is 1,943 feet and the maximum storage level of the dam is 72,662 acre-feet. Currently, the water storage in the dam is at 23,954 acre-feet, which means only 30.06 per cent of the water is available in the dam. At this level, the dam would be able to meet the requirements of the twin cities for the next three months only.

Khanpur and Rawal dams to run out of water in three months

At Rawal Dam, the water level is currently 1,752 feet and the maximum storage level of the dam is 28,310 acre-feet. Currently, the water storage in the dam is 19,012 acre-feet. The daily 46 cusecs of water discharged from the dam would be able to meet the requirement for three months.

Wasa Managing Director Muhammad Tanveer was hopeful that the water level would improve in the coming days and said that the situation would go from bad to worse if no rain occurred in February. He said that the rain on the outskirts of the garrison city would also improve the situation, as all the rain-fed nullahs would be discharged into these two dams. He said that the underground water level in the garrison city has also decreased due to over-extraction. He said that the water demand in the winter season has not increased significantly, but the issue will be aggravated if the summer season arrives early.

On the other hand, the situation has gotten worse in cantonment areas, which mostly rely on water supply from the Khanpur dam, as the Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards failed to make any strategy to deal with the situation.

Chaklala Cantonment Board Elected Member Raja Irfan Imtiaz said that the cantonment areas were being fed with water from Khanpur Dam as there were fewer tube wells in the area. “The water requirement is increasing with each day, and a total of 16 MGD water is provided to cantonment areas,” he said.

He said that there was no option for people to get water from private tankers, and they had also increased the prices. He said that there was a dire need for a new project to get water from other sources for cantonment areas.

Meanwhile, the Met Office predicted the chances of rain at the end of the month. It stated that during February, nearly normal precipitation is likely over most parts of the country. In March 2024, slightly above-normal precipitation is expected over the country, particularly the northwestern region.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2024