Rawal Lake pollution: Environmentalists suggest new water reservoir

[LRE]

Rawal Lake pollution: Environmentalists suggest new water reservoir

By Atif Khan

ISLAMABAD: Unchecked construction of housing units in the catchment area of Rawal Lake is further polluting its water and it’s time the government built an alternative water reservoir to provide potable water to the residents of Rawalpindi, say environmentalists during a talk with Daily Times.

“After the construction of Islamabad-Muzaffarabad Carriageway in the catchment area of Rawal Dam, influential builders jumped on the bandwagon and started developing housing colonies right under the nose of Capital Development Authority (CDA),” said Chaudhry Tabassum, an environment scientist.

Tabassum said that mushrooming growth of housing units on Murree Road was major source of pollution. He said the sewage of Murree Sanatorium, a tuberculoses hospital, situated in the lake’s catchment area, was dumped out in the open that ultimately flowed down to the lake, thus polluting it further.

Tabassum said that due to dense population, four major and 43 small water streams falling in the lake brought sewage-laden water to the dam during rains.

Constructed on Kurang River with a catchment area of 106 sq miles, Rawal Lake is the main source of water supply for Rawalpindi city and cantonment. The lake receives 84,000 acre feet water in an average rainfall year.

In 1995, realising the level of pollution in the lake the authorities constituted a task force, which recommended that there should be no more constructions in the area and the owners of the already built housing units should construct septic tanks to check the flow of sewage into the lake.

Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) officials admit that the task force’s recommendations were yet to be implemented.

Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project (REIP) had recently announced construction of two sewage treatment plants at Bani Gala and Bari Imam to save the lake from further pollution. But experts say that construction of sewage treatment plants is of no use, as the catchment area of the lake has become irreparably polluted. They suggested construction of new water reservoirs to ensure supply of potable water to Rawalpindi.

Tabassum was of the view that as pollution in the lake’s catchment area could not be checked, there was no other choice but to build another water reservoir and use the lake’s water for purposes other than drinking.

Environment scientist Dr Khayam Bukhari also suggested construction of a new water reservoir. Rawal Dam Director Chaudhry Nasir said that fishing was banned in the lake in 2003 after death of thousands of fish due to low water quality.

He said the federal government had also banned commercial fishing in the lake after testing the blood samples of fish.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg11_8