Dams In Pakistan

1.1 Importance of Dams for Pakistan Pakistan is highly dependent on agriculture, which in turn is dependent on water. Of the 79.6 million hectares of land that makeup Pakistan, 20 million are available for agricultural. Of those 20 million hectares, 16 million are dependent on irrigation. It is estimated that up to 90% of Pakistan’s agriculture is dependent on irrigation. An even more important fact is that many of Pakistan’s industries are agro-based, such as the textiles industry. Pakistan is fortunate in the soils, topography and climate, which are suitable for year round agriculture. Major agricultural areas lie within the plains formed by Indus River and its tributaries, namely Kabul, Chenab, Ravi, Jhelum and Sutlej. Indus plains are like a tunnel with number of water sources at the top, converging into single stream, which flows into the Arabian Sea, near the city of Karachi. First canal were constructed some 5 to 6 centuries ago and extended under the great Mogul emperors. In earlier l9th century, there were numerous inundation canals leading from Indus and its tributaries. World's largest contiguous irrigation project was started in l9th century. After independence in 1947, many more developments in the canal systems were made. Different barrages/canals i.e., (Kotri barrage-1956, Taunsa barrage-1958 and Guddu barrage1962), link canals (Marala-Ravi (MR), Bambanwala-Ravi-Bedian-Dipalpur (BRBD) and Balloki-Salimanki (B S) were constructed. A summary of this situation is made in the following table taken from Habib (in Mollinga):

Water and Land Resources of Pakistan Land availability and utilization Water availability and utilization Gross area of 83 million 138.89 million acre Average river inflow Pakistan hectares feet 22.4 million River flow diverted for 103.36 million acre Cropped Land hectares irrigation feet Rainfall below river’s 75 milion meters – Forest 3% main catchment 460 million meters 2.2 million Rain fed area Rainfall volume 67 million acre feet hectares Area with usable Rainfall in canal 19.38 million acre 65% groundwater irrigated zone feet Area with Daily free-surface 3 million meters-6 groundwater 65% evaporation million meters pumpage Recycled Water 37.14 million acre Percent Waterlogged 20% Average Daily feet Main and Secondary Percent Saline 30% 85% system’s efficiency Tertiary system’s Field Efficiency 75% 75% efficiency

1.2 Dams in Pakistan: Three main dams Mangla, Tarbela and Warsak were constructed for the purpose of generating electricity and irrigating agricultural land. In addition, there are 23 barrages/head works/syphons; main irrigation canals are 45, which have extended up to 40,000 miles. Similarly, there are 90,000 water courses, which are extended up to one million miles.

Tarbela Dam The world's largest earth-filled dam on one of the world's most important rivers - the Indus - is 103 km from Rawalpindi. The dam was completed in 1976 at a cost of Rs.18.5 billion. Over 15,000 Pakistani and 800 foreign workers and engineers worked during its construction. It is the biggest hydel power station in Pakistan having a capacity of generating 3,478 MW of electricity. Its reservoir is 97 km long with a depth of 137 meters while total area of the lake is 260 Sq Km. The Dam and Power House can be visited after acquiring permits from the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) along with a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Interior.

Mangla Dam The Mangla Dam on the River Jhelum is one of the longest earth-fill dams in the world. The Indus Basin treaty of 1960 with India paved the way for its construction. The treaty provided for two dams, one on the River Jhelum at Mangla and the other on the Indus at Tarbela. World's third largest earth-filled dam is only 115 km south-east of Rawalpindi. One has to turn left from Dina Town and the dam on river Jhelum is about 14 km to the east. The dam is 3,353 meters (11,000 ft) long and 116 meters high above the river bed with a crest elevation of 1,234 feet. It is designed to store 5.88 MAF water and also used for power generation. In the centre of the dam there is the Gakkhar Fort from where one can have a panoramic view of the lake. The Dam and Power House can be visited after acquiring permits from the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) along with a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Interior. Besides the main dam, Sukian Dyke, 17,000 feet in length, and a small dam 3,700 feet long to block the Jari Nala were also constructed. Jari Dam is 11 miles from New Mirpur. Mangla Dam has two spillways on the right side. The main spillway has a normal service capacity of 900,000 cusecs. It has nine gates 36 feet wide and 40 feet high. The second is an emergency spillway. Its design provides for a future increase of 48 feet in height.

WARSAK DAM: The gignatic multi-purpose Warsak Dam on River Kabul is situated 30 KMs north-west of Peshawar in the heart of tribal territory. It has a total generating capacity of 240,000 KW and will eventually serve to irrigate 110,000 acres of land. The 250 ft. high and 460 ft. long dam with reservoir of 4 square miles had a live storage capacity of 25,300 acre-feet of water for irrigation of 119,000 acres of land and meeting power generation requirement. A spillway with nine gates is capable to discharge 540,000 cusecs of flood water.

KHANPUR DAM This beautiful lake/dam is 48 km from Islamabad on Taxila-Haripur Road. It is an ideal place for day trip/picnic, boating, angling and watching migratory birds during winter. Khanpur Dam has been constructed in a narrow gorge on the Haro River. It is a multipurpose project which supplies drinking water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi and irrigation water to NWFP (110 cusecs) and Punjab (87 cusecs). Khanpur village, from which the dam derives its name, has been submerged by the reservoir, so a new Khanpur town has been built downstream of the Dam. The dam is 167 feet high and stores 106,000 acre feet of water. Construction was started in 1968 and completed in 1983 at a cost of Rs.1352 million.

Ghazi Barotha Hydro Power Project Ghazi Barotha Hydro Power Project is a Run-of-the-River power project on the Indus River located downstream of Tarbela Dam. The project provides the nation with a continuous peak power of 1450mw, 24 hours a day. The project was completed during the fiscal year 2003-2004. This is a major run of river and environmentally sustainable project designed to meet the acute shortage of peak power demand in the country. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project with a generation capacity of 1450 MW and an average energy output of 6600 GWh is a large, renewable and emission free source of energy towards WAPDA’s Vision 2025 goals. The Project has three main components, a Barrage, a Power Channel and a Power Complex. The Barrage located 7 km downstream of Tarbela Dam, provides a pond which reregulates the daily discharge from Tarbela by diverting the flow into the Power Channel. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project holds the record for the biggest concrete lined Power channel in the world which conveys a design flow of 1600 cumecs (56,500 cusecs) of water from the barrage to the power complex. The channel is 52 km long with a bed slope of 1 in 9600, a water depth of 9 m, a base width of 58.4 m and a velocity of

2.33 m/sec. The Power Complex is located near the confluence of the Indus and Haro rivers. It comprises a fore bay , a siphon, spillway , two head ponds, a power in take structure , penstocks, a power house with five 290 MW each turbo generators and a tail race channel.

Misriot Dam Misriot dam is located 12 km south-west of Rawalpindi. This small dam has an artificial lake with boating and fishing facilities. Fishing permit may be obtained from fishing guard at Misriot. It has a pleasant landscape and walkways beyond the lake among eruptions of black rocks.

Tanaza Dam It is a small dam located at about 35 Km south-west of Rawalpindi on Dhamial Road. Ideal for a day trip, the lake has a quiet atmosphere.

1.3 WAPDA training centers The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) of Pakistan has numerous training centers in the country providing quality training to national and international Power sector employees. Some of the training centers are as follows:







WAPDA Staff College, Islamabad. WAPDA Engineering Academy (Water & Power), Faisalabad Thermal Generation Training Center, Guddu Hydel Training Center, Mangla Technical Services Group, Lahore 8 Regional Training Centers (RTCs), one at each DISCO

Courtesy: WAPDA website, dams.org, flickr.com, pakwheels.com and many other websites.