RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) declared a water emergency on Sunday due to a severe water crisis caused by a prolonged drought affecting the garrison city.
Managing director of WASA, Saleem Ashraf, said after a brief consultation with the stakeholders about the current water scarcity about said that the water problem would become serious due to the lack of rains in February and March.
Saleem Ashraf said that water reserves were decreasing due to population growth and commercial activities, the distribution of available water has become difficult due to drought, and an awareness campaign has also been started to reduce water consumption.
The statement regarding the water emergency said that the drought has severely affected the water in dams and underground, and the demand and supply of water have also been severely affected.
The Managing Director WASA said that Rawalpindi’s demand is 68 million gallons of water per day, while the available water was only 51 million gallons per day. The water requirement is being met from Rawal Dam, Khanpur Dam and tube wells, whereas the underground water level has also dropped by 700 feet.
The WASA Director said that WASA had issued challans to two citizens for wasting water and would register cases for unnecessary use of water. The WASA MD appealed to the citizens to reduce water consumption and cooperate with WASA. Due to the thorough cleaning of Khanpur Dam, the water supply will be suspended until February 22.
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