Karachi: Plans to increase Hub Dam storage capacity under consideration

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Waqar Bhatti

The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) is reviewing several proposals for increasing the storage capacity of Hub Dam from 0.75 million acre feet (MAF) to at least 1 MAF, an official associated with Hub Dam told The News.

Hub Dam provides around 100 millions gallons of water per day to Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) for supply to Karachi, while an additional half of this quantity of water is provided to Balochistan for irrigation purposes.

“Both local and foreign experts have been hired, and are currently working on different proposals to enhance the water storage capacity of this important dam, where rainwater from 3410 sq. miles is stored and used for both drinking and irrigation purposes” Hub Dam Superintendent Engineer Engr. Saleem Queshi said.

Constructed on the Hub River in the north of Karachi in 1981, the Hub dam is the third largest dam in Pakistan after Mangla and Tarbela, and is spread over 32 sq. miles and has the life of 75 years, of which 28 years have passed.

He said that there are apprehensions of water scarcity in the coming years, which are based on lesser rains, growing needs of water for a swelling population, and other environmental impacts, authorities in the WAPDA have been looking into the possibilities of enhancing the storage capacity of this very important water reservoir.

“The water currently present in the dam is at the level of 315.40 ft, while the maximum storage capacity of this reservoir is 339ft. Rains in the end of July and start of August in its catchments’ area recharges its water level, but even if there are no rains this year, the dam still has the water to be supplied for the next one year” Engr. Qureshi said.

As far as finances required to fulfil the colossal task of storage capacity enhancement, Qureshi said that once a workable feasibility is completed, there were several international financial institutions and agencies who can finance the project. “I believe that if there is a will and you have some concrete development plan, finances are not an issue” he said.

According to Qureshi, unlike other major dams in the country, the Hub Dam had no in-built storage capacity enhancement project in its design, which was making the task a difficult; however he hoped that water experts would soon come up with some concrete proposal in this regard. “In the first stage, a hydrographic survey is being started from September to ascertain the siltation tendency of the dam” he informed, adding that the scientific survey would take four months to complete.

The International Sedimentation Research Institute of Pakistan (ISRIP), a subsidiary of Wapda would carryout the hydrographic survey of the dam, Engr. Qureshi informed, adding that Dams Safety Organisation (DSO) of Wapda would monitor the process.

“The survey would cost at least 10 million rupees, and would help in sedimentation and siltation tendency in the dam. Having said that, Hub Dam is considered to be the safest dam in the country because hardly any silt is deposited in it as its catchments’ area, which comprises mostly of hilly terrain” he said.

KWSB dues: Giving details of the financial crunch being faced by them, the official said that being an operating agency of Hub Dam, the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) owes around 175.518 million rupees to WAPDA in the head of 100 million gallons of water being supplied to Karachi every day.

“Despite all our efforts, KWSB is not willing to pay its dues, even though we are regularly supplying 100 MGD water to it, which amounts to 20-25 percent of total water consumed in Karachi” he informed.

He deplored the fact that the KWSB administration even failed to provide two million rupees monthly to them, which they themselves had offered to WAPDA as maintenance cost of the dam and the Hub Canal. He said that during last two years, only six million rupees have been received from the KWSB.

“This dam is the joint property of people of Sindh and Balochistan, as they are both beneficiaries of the project. Unfortunately, the cost incurred on supplying water to people of Sindh, in fact Karachi, is not being paid” he deplored.

Engr. Saleem Qureshi however, praised the Balochistan government saying they had cleared 90 percent of their dues.

Contamination: Denying reports of biological contamination of water supplied from the reservoir, Qureshi strongly denied the possibility of biological or chemical contamination of water stored in the dam, saying there were no such possibility as neither any industry nor any population lies in the entire catchments’ area of the reservoir.

“Water stored in the Hub Dam is free of all kinds of environmental pollution and chemical and biological contamination. There is no possibility of physical contamination but when it is used for drinking purposes, it is purified by the supplying agency i.e. KWSB” he informed.

He said that the entire staff of Hub Dam who reside at the site of the reservoir and the local population consume the water from the dam without any purification, and they have never complained about quality of the water.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=191634