PERVAIZ AWAN - Due to existing spell of drought, water level in Khanpur Dam is declining and it is feared that shortage of water in the dam may create water supply crisis for twin cities.
The water level in the dam has decreased by 30 feet which may cause water supply shortage for Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
According to the details, Khanpur Dam is located on the Haro River which originates from Abottabad. It is situated near Potwar Plateau and the village of Khanpur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, about 40 km from Islamabad and 15km from Haripur. It caters to domestic water supplies in Rawalpindi and Islamabad and irrigation water to many of the agricultural and industrial areas surrounding the twin cities.
The dam was completed in 1983 after a 15-year construction period with a cost of Rs1,352 million. It is 167 feet high and stores 110,000 acre feet, it stores 140,000,000 cubic meters of water.
Khanpur dam is fulfilling the major water need of the twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad, but the ongoing spell of drought in the country has decreased water level by 30 feet in the dam reservoir, which may create a danger situation for supply of water to the twin cities.
According to a source, this time only 44 cusecs water is coming in the reservoir daily whereas water requirement was 187 cusecs per day. The experts have opinion that if there would not be rain, water supply to the twin cities may suspend and create an acute shortage of water for the inhabitants of the both cities beside the industries and irrigation.
