ISLAMABAD: Every year, millions of gallons of water are released from Simly and Rawal dams through spillways to discharge excess water, as no mechanism exists to store the surplus for water-scarcity-hit Islamabad.

The latest spell of heavy rain on Monday filled both reservoirs to capacity, resulting in the opening of a gate of Simly Dam on Monday night, followed by the opening of the spillways of Rawal Dam on Tuesday.

Before the opening of spillways, Simly Dam had a water level of 2,315 feet, which was reduced by two feet after one gate was opened.

The spillways of Rawal Dam were opened when the water level reached up to 1,752 feet.

Spillways of Simly, Rawal dams opened again after heavy rains as twin cities grapple with shortage issues

Rawal Dam, which is located in Islamabad, is managed by the Punjab government as it supplies water to the residents of Rawalpindi, while Simly Dam serves as the main water source for Islamabad.

“Every year, a large amount of water is wasted from these two dams after the opening of spillways, which could have been stored for residents of water-scarcity-hit Islamabad. But the CDA never took practical steps in this regard,” said an official source.

He added that this year, the spillways of Rawal Dam were opened around 15 times, while Simly Dam’s spillways were opened about eight times. Sources said that around 12,000 million gallons per day (mgd) were spilled from Rawal and over 2,000 mgd from Simly Dam.

The spilled water flowed through the Sohan River and eventually into the Indus River.

Besides the shortage of water supply, Islamabad is also facing depletion of its groundwater level.

No new water source has been developed for the capital in the past 25 years, despite the city’s growing population.

The CDA currently provides 70 million gallons per day to Islamabad residents against the actual need of over 280 mgd, drawn from three main sources, including Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam and tubewells.

The rural population relies either on bore water or small water schemes managed by the district government.

According to documents available with Dawn, Islamabad’s total water demand is 283 mgd (246 mgd actual and 37 mgd in distribution losses), creating a supply gap of over 175 mgd.

In the past, several announcements were made to construct two small dams, Chinot Dam in the catchment area of Simly to prevent water loss through spillways, and Shahdara Dam.

However, these projects have yet to move beyond paperwork.

Almost every government has announced plans to resolve Islamabad and Rawalpindi’s water issue.

The incumbent government also took notice a few months ago when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a task force headed by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to address the problem.

The federal government also plans to establish a new independent body to oversee water projects, focusing on the Ghazi Barotha project, which aims to bring 100 million gallons per day each for Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

When contacted, CDA spokesperson Shahid Kiani said the civic agency has been taking steps to address the water issue.

He said two small dams, including Chinot (upstream of Simly) and Shahdara (upstream of Rawal), will be built.

“Once constructed, these small dams will not only function as water reservoirs but also help control silting,” he said, adding that to improve the groundwater table, “we are constructing 100 recharging wells, besides 20 water tanks”.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2025