Rawal Dam, which was installed in Islamabad, serves Rawalpindi’s unique water needs. Until the 1990s, the CDA received two to four million gallons a day (MGD) of water, but this was later stopped. But, fortunately after three decades of effort, the dispute between the Small Dam Organization (SDO) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) over the release of two million gallon regular (mgd) water from Rawal Dam to Islamabad has been settled.

CDA to Collect 2 Million Gallons Per Day:

On Monday, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) began collecting two million gallon per day (mgd) of water from a treatment plant near the sports complex.

“We are very happy today because the water supply from Rawal Dam has been restored,” said Ali Nawaz Awan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on CDA Affairs.

He said that adding two million gallons of water to Islamabad’s supply system would assist the CDA in overcoming the city’s water shortage.

Officials said that when CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed was told about an unfinished treatment plant near the sports complex last year at a meeting on water supply issues, he questioned the reason for its construction.

According to officials, the chairman then directed the water supply directorate to make the plant operational while the CDA worked to rebuild the dam’s water supply.

He also gave money to the water directorate in order to resurrect the obsolete treatment facility. Later, the CDA paid the Small Dam Organisation Rs32 million in unpaid fees for the reconstruction of the dam’s supply.

Meanwhile, a water management subcommittee led by Mr. Awan was instrumental in persuading the Punjab government to restore Islamabad’s water supply.

“A CDA team and all committee members across party lines deserve praise for this achievement,” Mr. Awan said, adding that the availability of water will be strengthened in many residential sectors with the inclusion of the two mgd.

Water Scarce City:

Islamabad is considered a water-scarce city because it only receives 65 to 70 mgd of water every day, despite a total demand of 220 mgd. Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam, and tubewells are the only reservoirs of water in the capital city. However, all three water sources are decades old, and little attention was paid to discovering new water sources.

In the other hand, Islamabad’s population has grown dramatically, with a total population of over 2.2 million people and rising.

CDA officials said the civic agency was concentrating on the restoration and reconstruction of supply lines by plugging leaks in the pipelines as a short-term measure. A total of seven additional tankers have been added to the fleet.

The CDA has stated that the Ghazi Barotha scheme, which is intended to provide 100 million gallons of water per day to Rawalpindi and Islamabad, is a long-term solution, but the project has yet to progress beyond the feasibility stage.

According to officials, the federal government will be responsible for the project’s implementation because it will cost more than Rs70 billion.

However, the federal government has set aside Rs400 million for the feasibility report and Rs3,154 million for land acquisition in the current fiscal year 2020-21.

This is a big news and it will facilitate the people of Islamabad. Previously, Islamabad was known as water scarce city. After the release of this new report, as the issue is now resolved between the authorities, it will bring change in Islamabad. The water source from Rawal Dam to Islamabad has been restored after a three-decade pause.