Heavy rains in the catchment area of the Hub Dam, especially in Khuzdar and Lasbela districts of Balochistan, have resulted in a considerable increase in the water level in the dam, which had almost dried due to lack of rains and years of drought in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, Wapda officials said on Thursday.
“Due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of the Hub Dam, which is spread over thousands of kilometres in Balochistan and Sindh, a considerable rise in the water level has been witnessed today as our reservoir level increased by 17 feet to reach at 295 feet while water is still pouring into the dam, which had almost dried during recent years,” an official of Wapda, which manages the small, medium and large dams in the country, told The News.
The increase in the reservoir level had made the people of Karachi and Lasbela overwhelmed with joy as it could provide them around 166 million gallons of water per day for up to a year, while the water level was still on the rise due to the arrival of rainwater from areas several hundred kilometers away from the dam, the official added.
Pakistan Meteorological Department officials said Khuzdar, Lasbela, Awaran, Barkhan and w Dureji areas of Balochistan received heaviest rains on Wednesday in the recent years where over two dozen people were killed in rain-related accidents while many mud houses collapsed due to hill torrents and flooding.
Although the rains have brought misery to many people in these four districts, they have not only ended years of drought but also resulted in the accumulation of rainwater in the Hub Dam, which is the main source of water for irrigation, industrial and domestic uses in the Lasbela district, especially the Hub Tehsil.
Officials said the Hub Dam supplies 100 million gallons of water per day (mgd) to Karachi and around 66 mgd of water to the Hub Tehsil when it is filled with water, and once it is fully filled, the dam can provide water to both Karachi and Balochistan’s Lasbela district for up to three years.
“The Hub Dam’s reservoir level had dropped to 278.40 ft due to lack of rains in its catchment area during the recent years and we were using suction pumps to get water from the dam to provide it to nearby areas for drinking as the dam’s dead level is at 276.25 ft,” the Wapda official said, adding that but now due to arrival of thousands of cusecs of water, they would be able to provide water from the dam for several months.
The several kilometres’ long Hub Canal from the dam provides 100 mgd to the Hub pumping station and filter plant at Manghopir, from where water is supplied to many city areas, including Surjani, Manghopir, Orangi Town, Ittehad Town and Baldia Town, officials said, adding that due to the discontinuation of the supply from the Hub Dam, people of those areas had been buying water through tankers for last several months.
Residents of these areas which are dependent on the Hub Dam for their water needs expressed joy over the arrival of rainwater in the dam, saying they had not been receiving tap water for the last several months, but now they hoped they would start getting water till the monsoon season.
“We are full of praise for Allah Almighty who accepted our prayers and the catchment areas of the Hub Dam received heavy rains, which caused some damage, but they are good for millions of people, who get water from the Hub Dam,” Asghar Khan, a resident of Ittehad town, said.
People of the Hub Tehsil of Balochistan were also overjoyed due to the arrival of rainwater in the Hub Dam, as they had been facing an acute shortage of drinking water for several years due to lack of rainfall.
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