ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to dig 20 water tanks and 100 recharge wells across the city to tackle the fast-depleting groundwater level in Islamabad.
The shortage of water in the federal capital was recently discussed in the National Assembly, where MNA Anjum Aqeel Khan expressed serious concern over the situation. Despite rapid population growth, no new water source has been added to Islamabad’s system in the past three decades.
CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa, while chairing a meeting, directed DG Water Sardar Khan Zimri to start work on the tanks and wells. According to the DG, the tanks will be built at the Margalla foothills with a capacity of 200,000 to 500,000 million gallons per day. Each tank will have an adjacent lake.
The recharge wells, 15 feet wide and 25 feet deep, will be installed in different parts of the city to store water and replenish the aquifer.
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“Our survey is underway, and cost estimates are being finalised. Tenders will be floated soon, and the project is expected to begin within a month,” the DG said. He added that the plan will also help control urban flooding.
Officials say the city’s water table drops by at least four feet every year. To address the crisis in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the federal government is also set to launch the Ghazi Barotha/Tarbela project, which will supply 100 million gallons of water per day (mgd) to each city.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a task force, led by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, to oversee water projects. The Ghazi Barotha/Tarbela scheme is expected to be completed within three years, bringing 200 mgd to the twin cities.
Currently, CDA supplies only 62 mgd from Simly and Khanpur dams and tubewells, while the rural population relies on bore water and small local schemes. Islamabad’s water demand stands at 283 mgd, leaving a shortfall of over 175 mgd. This gap is managed through rationing, with some areas getting water only on alternate days.
