CDA mandates rainwater harvesting to combat water shortage in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Water Management Wing has prepared a plan to deal with the threat of water shortage and the possibility of drought in Islamabad.

The CDA Board has recently approved the proposal to declare house-to-house and building Rain Harvesting technology mandatory through amendments in the CDA By-laws.

What is the new policy?

It has been mandatory to construct rainwater harvesting tanks in all types of buildings constructed on plots having a size of 400 sq. Yards and above, under clause 4.1.2 Rain Harvesting of Islamabad Capital Territory Building Control Regulations-2020.

In clause 9.5 General sub-clause, it has been clarified that rainwater harvesting tanks with recharging wells and storage tank as per approved drawings is mandatory in all types of building irrespective of size and usage.

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No building plan can be approved without the proposed rainwater harvesting tank in the building plans. No building will be issued a completion certificate until the rainwater harvesting tank is physically constructed at the site.

On the other hand, at the time of the establishment of Islamabad in the year 1960, the ground water table was around 10 meters which has declined at the rate of 1.7 meters per year due to massive extraction of water to meet the supply/demand gap i.e… 80 MGD against the demand of 220 MGD for 2.6 million people living in Islamabad and reduced water percolation into the soil. The average annual rainfall of Islamabad is about 1000mm but due to rapid urbanization, huge runoff originates during rainfall but it goes wasted into Soan River out of which most of its content could be utilized through water recharging activity.

The CDA in collaboration with PCRWR has established a rainwater harvesting system at identified sites in the sectorial area of Islamabad. These models have been set up in the Thar and Cholistan deserts to improve the drought resilience of the local population, rainwater harvesting in Balochistan as a means of artificial groundwater recharge and provision of clean drinking as a component of human security in DI Khan.

For the last five years, models of rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge have been set up in urban areas like Lahore, Sialkot, Kamalia, Jhelum, Islamabad, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, etc. as informed by PCRWR.

According to the details, the rainwater in Islamabad is wasted in the Soan river the wasted water can be used for water recharging.