After a gap of three decades, the supply of water from Rawal Dam to Islamabad has been restored.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Monday started receiving two million gallons per day (mgd) for a treatment plant near the sports complex where the water is stored.
“We are very happy today as finally the supply of water from Rawal Dam has been restored,” said Special Assistant to Prime Minister on CDA Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan.
He said the addition of the two mgd water to the supply system of Islamabad would help the city with the ongoing water shortage.
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Last year during a relevant meeting on the water supply issue, CDA Chairman was informed about an abandoned treatment plant, and he directed that it be restored to its functionality.
It was noted that two mgd of water stored in the reservoirs will be provided from the plants.
He also provided funds to the water directorate to revive the dysfunctional treatment plant. Later, the CDA also paid the outstanding dues of Rs32 million to the Small Dam Organisation for restoration of the supply from the dam.
On the other hand, a subcommittee on water resources headed by Mr. Awan played a major role in convincing the Punjab government to restore the water supply to Islamabad.
After the addition of the two mgd from Islamabad’s Rawal dam, the supply of water will be improved in several residential sectors.
Islamabad is considered a water-scarce city as 65 to 70 mgd of water is supplied against the total demand of 220 mgd. For decades, the capital city has only three sources of water: Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam, and tubewells.
On the other hand, the population of Islamabad has increased arithmetically as currently, it has over 2.2 million population which is constantly increasing, with a growth rate of 3.05% in 2021. In 2010, the population was 804,300, and in 12 years it has increased by almost 1.4 million people.
The Ghazi Barotha project, which is designed to provide 100 mgd of water each to Rawalpindi and Islamabad, is a long-term solution but so far, the project could not move beyond the feasibility stage.
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The federal government is expected to bear the expense as roughly over Rs70 billion were required for the mega project.
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