RAWALPINDI: Most parts of the garrison city saw no rain on Monday, but water levels in Leh Nullah rose to 14 feet at New Kattarian and nine feet at Gawalmandi.

“More than 8,000 cusecs of water arrived from Islamabad in Leh Nullah, which caused the water level at Kattarian bridge to reach 14 feet and nine feet at Gawalmandi. It is confirmed that no rain fell in Rawalpindi city and water coming from Islamabad increased the water level,” said Wasa Managing Director Saleem Ashraf while talking to Dawn.

He added that a pre-alert had been issued in the areas around Kattarian, and teams from the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) were deployed in the area to discharge water in case of emergency. “We already imposed a rain emergency in Rawalpindi, which will remain until September 15, marking the end of the monsoon,” he stated.

He mentioned that Leh Nullah and its tributaries had been cleared ahead of the monsoon, and after last week’s rainfall of 244 mm in Rawalpindi, all islets in Leh were removed.

Met Office forecasts thunderstorms and rain-wind in Potohar region, upper KP till July 25

“This allowed water to flow smoothly, with levels at 10.5 feet at Kattarian and 8.5 feet at 8:12 pm; it is expected to discharge into the Soan River by late night,” he explained.

According to the Met Office, heavy downpour lasting more than two hours occurred in Islamabad, with 2mm of rain in Pirwadhai and 7mm at Kattarian, while most parts of the garrison city received no rain — including Shamsabad, Murree Road, Liaquat Bagh, Gawalmandi, Raja Bazaar, Kutchery Chowk, Chaklala, Bahria Town, Jhelum Road, Lalazar, and Soan River.

The Meteorological Department recorded 163 millimetres (mm) of rainfall at Saidpur, 43mm at Golra, 13mm at Zero Point, 3mm at Bokra in Islamabad and 2mm at Pirwadhai and 7mm at Kattarian, while 4mm of rain fell in Murree. The met official said that moist currents from the Arabian Sea are penetrating in the country. A westerly wave is affecting the western and upper parts of the Country.

He said that rain-wind/thundershower is expected in Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. Isolated heavy falls are expected in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Potohar region, Northeast Punjab, Kashmir and adjoining hilly areas during the period. Hot and humid weather is likely elsewhere in the country.

According to Met Office, heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs/streams of Chitral, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Hill torrents of D.G. Khan, Northeast Punjab and Kashmir till July 25.

Heavy Downpour may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Okara, Nowshera and Peshawar till July 25.

Rawal Dam spillways reopened

The recent rains filled water reservoirs of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and the spillways of Rawal Dam reopened on Monday morning after the water level touched 1,748 feet.

It was the second time, the spillways of the dam were opened in the last two days. Before opening the spillways, the sirens were blown for 30 minutes.

An official of the Small Dams Organisation told Dawn that this year the spillways were opened second time in two days as precautionary measure and in anticipation of heavy rains.

He said that sirens were blown before opening the spillways so people residing along the Korang Nullah were advised to refrain from fishing and bathing in the downstream because of the release of a large amount of water from the lake, as it could be dangerous.

WASA Managing Director Saleem Ashraf told Dawn that in the last two days, the water level in Rawal Dam reduced from 1,748.5 to 1,745, but on Monday evening, water level again reached 1,748.

“It was the right decision to reduce water in the early morning,” he said.

He said that the current monsoon spell has considerably augmented the water level of Khanpur, Rawal and Simly dams, ensuring adequate water supply to Rawalpindi and Islamabad for the next 12 months.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2025