ISLAMABAD: Amid potential drought conditions and a severe drop in water reserves, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to build 100 recharge wells and water tanks to conserve water in Islamabad.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa on Thursday.
The meeting decided to take several measures to conserve water and replenish groundwater levels in the capital.
It was agreed that 100 large recharge wells will initially be constructed at various locations in Islamabad to channel rainwater back underground.
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These wells will be developed in green belts and open spaces. The CDA also declared the construction of recharge wells at all farmhouses and residential units in Islamabad mandatory.
Housing societies have been directed to ensure the construction of recharge wells in every house and submit compliance reports to the CDA.
The meeting also approved the construction of 20 large water tanks and reservoirs to store clean water flowing through Islamabad’s natural streams
In the first phase, 10 tanks will be built.
The CDA also approved a plan to preserve water used for ablution in mosques, which will later be used for gardening and construction.
Housing societies have been directed to ensure installation of ablution water recycling systems in their mosques.
The meeting was further briefed that 11 wetlands will be built at different sites in Islamabad to remove contamination from streams.
These wetlands will scientifically treat wastewater before it is released back into water bodies.
The construction of wetlands has also been made mandatory for all housing societies, with CDA tasked to monitor their implementation.
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The CDA chairman said that third-party validation will be carried out for all water conservation projects to ensure transparency and effectiveness.
The meeting was attended by CDA Board Member Planning and Design Dr Khalid Hafeez, DG Water Islamabad and other senior officials.
At the time of Islamabad’s establishment in 1960, the groundwater table stood at around 10 meters. Since then, it has been declining at an average rate of 1.7 meters per year due to massive extraction to bridge the supply-demand gap — 80 million gallons per day (MGD) against a demand of 220 MGD for the city’s 2.6 million residents — coupled with reduced water percolation into the soil.
Islamabad receives an average annual rainfall of about 1,000 millimetres. However, rapid urbanisation has caused most of this rainfall to turn into surface runoff, which drains into the Soan River. A significant portion of this water could be conserved through recharge initiatives.