Islamabad: CDA to install sewage treatment plant at Rawal Dam

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Stream water falling into dam to be treated
* Authority to hire consultant for feasibility study, pollutant measurement

By Fazal Sher

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Wednesday decided to install a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Rawal Dam for treating polluted water of streams falling into the dam to provide safe drinking water to residents of Rawalpindi.

The decision was taken in CDA board meeting presided over by the authority’s chairman Tariq Mehmood Khan. All the board members including Member Engineering Tahir Shahmshad, Member Finance Saeedur Rahman, Member Estate Asad Munir, Member Environment Mazhar Hussain, Member Planning and Design Tanveer Bukhari, Member administration SM Farooqi and other senior officials attended the meeting, an official told Daily Times.

He said a number of streams that fall into Rawal Dam bring huge pollutants to the Dam as they pass through different residential areas including Barri Imam, Qaid-e-Azam University and housing societies like Banni Gala and poultry farms.

The board has directed the relevant directorate of CDA to hire a consultant to conduct feasibility study for the installation of STP, said the official. The consultant would also conduct study of catchments and measure the amount of pollutants, he said.

He said the authority’s officials informed the meeting about rising level of pollutants in Rawal Dam water. They said the residents of Rawalpindi were getting polluted water from Rawal Lake, the main source of drinking water for Rawalpindi. They said water quality of Rawal Dam was deteriorating with each passing day as the water samples collected by Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project (REIP) from the lake revealed that the water contained high quantity of phosphate and sulphate, which was dangerous for health.

The official said the Rawal Lake was vulnerable to water pollution and one major problem was eutrophication, as lake water became artificially enriched with nutrients, causing abnormal plant growth.

He said the board also decided that the authority would construct STPs in sectors I-14, I-15, I-16 and I-11.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_1