RAWALPINDI: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has prepared a project worth Rs50 billion to bring 35 million gallon daily (MGD) water for the Rawalpindi city and cantonment areas from the under-construction Daducha Dam.

Talking to Dawn, Wasa Managing Director Saleem Ashraf said the feasibility study for the water supply from the dam had been completed. “We have prepared a project worth Rs50 billion for the construction of a filtration plant at the dam and lay water supply network.”

He said the project will be sent to the Punjab government in a day or two for final approval. Under the project, a filtration plant will be set up at Daducha Dam and supply network will be laid for the city and cantonment areas to resolve the water shortage issue for the next 25 years.

He said Wasa had sought funds so work on the filtration plant and supply lines could be started simultaneously with the construction of the Daducha Dam to complete both the projects within a year.

“Total 35 MGD water will be brought from Daducha Dam and allocated for the city and cantonment areas,” he said.

He said Daducha Dam worth Rs14 billion was being constructed on the upstream of Ling River to collect rainwater from Murree and Kahuta hills in a lake at Daducha village near Sihala on Kahuta Road.

He said Wasa Rawalpindi was supplying water to the citizens of Rawalpindi from surface and groundwater sources. Rawal Dam is the oldest and main surface water source supplying more than 23 MGD water against the installed capacity of 28 MGD.

“Khanpur Dam is the second source of surface water and Wasa is receiving six MGD of water from it due to shortage of water in Khanpur Lake,” he said.

“The ground water in Wasa administered area is abstracted through 500 operational tubewells and about 35 MGD of water is supplied by those tubewells, which form more than 60pc of the actual water being presently supplied from all the available sources,” he said.

“The present sources are not enough to cater to future demand of the growing population of Rawalpindi city. Switching from groundwater source to surface water is essential in order to meet water demand of future population of the city as the ground recharge potential is no longer available,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2025