ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Water level at Rawal dam has increased to 28,000 acre feet due to the ongoing rains promising an abundant supply of water to Rawalpindi in the summer.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) deputy director, Naseer Ahmed told Dawn here on Friday that water level at the dam had doubled compared to the last summer's level of 14,000 acre feet.

The water level, he said, could reach the full capacity of 37,000 acre feet if the wet spell continued for another few days. "The dam is only 9,000 acre feet short of its total capacity now and if rains continued the dam would be completely filled," he said.

The official said due to the increased water level in the dam, Rawalpindi was now getting its full share of 22 MGD from Rawal Dam of which 12 MGD was sold to the EME and half a million to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC).

The present water storage in the dam, he said, was enough for the Wasa consumers for 280 days. Mr Ahmed said water level in Khanpur dam had reached the mark of 50,000 acre feet and Wasa was receiving its full share of 6 MGD.