Govt Announces Plan to Speed Up Four Mega Dam Projects for 8 MAF Water Storage

ISLAMABAD: The government has accelerated work on four major dam projects that are expected to add more than eight million acre-feet (MAF) of water storage capacity.

According to official data available with Wealth Pakistan, the country receives nearly 80 percent of its annual river flows during only 92 days between June and August, while the remaining 20 percent is spread over the other 273 days of the year, said a news release issued here on Saturday.

This uneven distribution has long created major challenges for irrigation management, flood control, and water availability during dry periods.

To tackle these challenges, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has developed reservoirs with a combined live storage capacity of 13.168 MAF. These reservoirs help regulate water supplies throughout the year across the Indus Basin Irrigation System.

Pakistan’s three principal reservoirs are Tarbela Dam, with a live storage capacity of 5.580 MAF, Mangla Dam with 7.277 MAF, and Chashma Barrage with 0.311 MAF.

Besides dam construction, WAPDA has expanded its hydro-meteorological monitoring and telemetry systems to enable real-time tracking of river flows, transboundary streams, reservoir levels, and rainfall patterns.

The system is designed to support timely operational decisions and improve preparedness for floods and droughts.