LAHORE – Even with decreased river inflows in the catchment areas of Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs, water storage in the country this year is still far better, as 472,000 acre feet of water is available in the reservoirs for irrigation today compared with only 185,000 acre feet of water on April 10 last year.
According to details, water elevation in Mangla reservoir is 1087.1 feet above mean sea level (AMSL) today against 1067.6 feet last year. Water level in Chashma reservoir is 638.15 feet – same as that of last year. While, Tarbela reservoir lowered today to its dead level of 1378 feet AMSL, it is pertinent to mention that last year Tarbela reservoir reached its dead level on March 15, about 25 days earlier than the current year.
Referring to the decreased water inflows, Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) spokesperson said that snowfall in the catchment areas of the two mega reservoirs normally starts in November every year. Contrarily, this year snowfall started in the end of January, almost two and a half months later. He further said that the unusual decrease in temperature, especially in the hilly areas of the country during the last two weeks badly affected the rate of snow melting in those areas.
Consequently, water inflows, which were on the higher side till the end of March, were also reduced. Today, mean inflow of water in the River Indus at Tarbela is 21,700 cusecs compared with 26,900 cusecs last year. Similarly, mean inflow of water in the River Jhelum at Mangla is 25,600 cusecs than that of 32,300 cusecs the same day in the 2010, he added.
The spokesperson further said that the mercury in the catachment areas of the two reservoirs has started rising. Resultantly, the rate of snow melting will also increase in the days to come. As the inflows become normal, the situation of the water reservoirs, Tarbela in particular, will also improve in a few days, he added.
