DAMS AND BARRAGES

DAMS AND BARRAGES

DUNGI DAM

Dohngi Dam (Dungi Dam) is a dam, located 2 kilometers northwest of Gujar Khan in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

GHAZI BAROTHA DAM

Ghazi Barotha Dam is located on Indus River in Pakistan. Ghazi Barotha Hydroelectric project is located around 100 km from Islamabad. It involved the construction of a partial river diversion at Ghazi Barotha, 7 km downstream from the Tarbela Dam.

The barrage diverts water into a 52 km concrete-lined channel and delivers it to the 1,450MW powerhouse at Barotha. This is further downstream, near the confluence of the Indus and Haro rivers. In this reach the Indus River drops by 76 m within a distance of 63 km. After passing through the powerhouse, diverted water is returned to the Indus. In addition to these main works, transmission lines stretch 340 km.

GOMAL DAM

Gomal Dam is located on Gomal river in South Waziristan, NWFP, Pakistan.

GOMAL ZAM DAM PROJECT

Gomal Zam Dam Project is located in Damaan area of NWFP, Pakistan. Gomal River, on which a 437 feet high Gomal Zam Dam will be built, is one of the significant tributaries of Indus River. It is planned to irrigate about 163,000 acres of land. The total projects costs amounts to Rs. 12 billion. It will be a Roller compacted concrete dam, having a gross storage of 1.14 MAF. It will produce 17.4 MW of electricity when completed. Approximately Rs. 4.388 billion contracts for the construction of Gomal Zam Dam Project was awarded to Messers CWHEC - HPE, a joint venture of two Chinese firms in August 2002.

GUDDU BARRAGE

Guddu Barrage is a barrage across river Indus, near Sukkur in Pakistan. President Sikander Mirza laid foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage on February 2, 1957. The barrage was completed in 1962.

At the time of its construction it has maximum design discharge of 1.2 million cubic feet per second (34,000 m³/s). It is a gate-controlled weir type barrage with a navigation lock. The barrage has 64 bays, each 60 feet (18 m) wide. The maximum flood level height of Guddu barrage is 26 feet (8 m). It controls irrigation supplies to 2.9 million acres (12,000 km²) of agricultural lands in the Jacobabad, Larkana and Sukkur districts of Sindh and the Nasirabad district of Balochistan. The cost of the project was 474.8 million rupees. It feeds Ghotki Feeder, Begari Feeder, Desert and Pat Feeder canals.

HUB DAM

Hub Dam is a large water storage reservoir constructed in 1981 on the Hub River on the arid plains north of Karachi on provincial border between Balochistan and Sindh, Pakistan. The reservoir supplies water for irrigation in Lasbela District of Balochistan and drinking water for the city of Karachi. It is an important staging and wintering area for an appreciable number of waterbirds and contains a variety of fish species which increase in abundance during periods of high water. The Mahseer (Tor putitora), an indigenous riverine fish found in the Hub River, can grow up to 9 feet in length and more than 110 lbs. The Hub reservoir can grow up to 32 square miles and provides for excellent angling.

KAROONJHAR DAM

Karoonjhar Dam is a dam in Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan.

MANGLA DAM

As per the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960, India gained rights for the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers, while Pakistan, in addition to waters of above three rivers in her area and some monetary compensation, got rights to develop the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus river basins. Until 1967, the entire irrigation system of Pakistan was fully dependent on unregulated flows of the Indus and its major tributaries. The agricultural yield was very low for a number of reasons, the most important being a lack of water during critical growing periods. This problem stemmed from the seasonal variations in the river flow and the absence of storage reservoirs to conserve the vast amounts of surplus water during periods of high river discharge.

The Mangla Dam was the first development project undertaken to reduce this shortcoming and strengthen the irrigation system. The dam was damaged partially during an Indian Air Force bombing in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 when the hydel project was hit by the bombs.

The Mangla Dam project

The Mangla Dam, the twelfth largest dam and third largest earth-filled dam in the world, is only 115 km southeast of Rawalpindi. One has to turn left from Dina Town and the dam on river Jhelum is about 14 km to the east. It was constructed in 1967 across the Jhelum River, about 100 miles southeast of the federal capital, Islamabad. The main structures of the dam include 4 embankment dams, 2 spillways, 5 power-cum-irrigation tunnels and a power station.

The main dam is 10,300 feet long and 454 feet high (above core trench) with a reservoir of 97.7 square miles. Since its first impounding in 1967, sedimentation has occurred to the extent of 1.13 MAF, and the present gross storage capacity has declined to 4.75 MAF from the actual design of 5.88 MAF. The live capacity has declined to 4.58 MAF from 5.34 MAF. This implies a reduction of 19.22% in the capacity of the dam.

The project was designed primarily to increase the amount of water that could be used for irrigation from the flow of the Jhelum and its tributaries. Its secondary function was to generate electrical power from the irrigation releases at the artificial head of the reservoir. The project was not designed as a flood control structure, although some benefit in this respect also arises from its use for irrigation and water supply.

In the centre of the dam there is a Gakkhar Fort from where one can have a panoramic view of the lake.

MIRANI DAM

Mirani Dam is located in Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Mirani Dam multipurpose project, is located on Dasht River, about 30 miles west of Turbat in Makran Division of Balochistan, it envisages provision of dependable irrigation supplies for the development ref irrigated agriculture on the two banks of the river. The project have been completed in November 2006 and inaugurated by president Pervaiz of Pakistan.

SHAKIDOR DAM

The Shakidor (Shadi Kor) dam is located near Pasni, in the Balochistan province of south west Pakistan, 1,900 km (1,180 miles) from Islamabad and has a length of about 148 meters (485 feet). It was built in 2003, at a cost of 45 million rupees (758,853 dollars), to provide irrigation water to the nearby farms.

On February 10, 2005, the dam burst under the pressure of a weeks' worth of rain, killing at least 70 villagers and dragging their bodies to the Arabian Sea. The Pakistani military was sent into emergency Search and Rescue operations, saving 1,200 people but still having to account for over 400 missing.

SUKKAR BARRAGE

The Sukkur barrage is a barrage across the Indus River near the city of Sukkur, Pakistan. It was built during the British Raj from 1923 to 1932 as the Lloyd Barrage to help alleviate famines caused by lack of rain. The barrage enables water to flow through what was originally a 6166-mile long network of canals, feeding the largest irrigation system in the world, with more than 5 million acres (20,000 km²) of irrigated land.

The retaining wall has sixty-six spans, each 60 feet wide; each span has a gate which weighs 50 tons.

TARBELA DAM

Tarbela Dam (or the National Dam), the world's largest earth-filled dam on one of the world's most important rivers - the Indus-, is 103 km from Rawalpindi near Haripur District. It is a major source of Pakistan's total hydroelectric capacity. Tarbela Dam is part of the Indus Basin Project, which resulted from a water treaty signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan, guaranteeing Pakistan water supplies independent of upstream control by India. Construction began in 1968, and 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. The dam has a volume of 138,600,000 cubic yards (106,000,000 m³). With a reservoir capacity of 11,098,000 acre-feet (13.69 km³), the dam is 469 feet (143 m) high and 8,997 feet (2,743 m) wide at its crest while total area of the lake is 260 sq.km. It helps to maintain the flow of the Indus during seasonal fluctuations.

A new, smaller hydroelectric power project has been developed downstream known as the Ghazi Barotha Hydel Power Project. It is solely for generating electricity and has a water channel with the highest flow in the world.

While the dam has fulfilled its purpose in storing water for agricultural use in Pakistan, there have been environmental consequences to the Indus river delta. Reductions of seasonal flooding and reduced water flows to the delta have decreased mangrove stands and the abundance of some fish species.

Permits are required for visiting the Dam. Please contact Public Relations Officer (PRO), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Tarbela (Tel: 051-568941-2). A No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Interior (Shaheed-e-Millat Sectt.), Islamabad is also required for foreign visitors.

DIAMER-BHASHA DAM

Diamer-Bhasha Dam is the name of a dam that has been planned in the Northern Areas of Pakistan on the River Indus. It is located about 314 km upstream of Tarbela Dam and about 165 km downstream of Gilgit. The dam is expected to create a large reservoir with a gross capacity of 7.3 million-acre feet (9 km³) submerging large tracts of land in the Diamer district. The dam is supposed to have a power generation capacity of 3.360 megawatts and is expected to considerable ease up the skewed hydro to thermal power generation ratio in Pakistan. It is expected that the detailed drawings of the dam would be completed by March 2008, immediately after which construction work shall begin.

TANDA DAM

Tanda Dam is lcated in Kohat District, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The site comprises a small water storage area in semi-arid hills in the catchments of the Kohat Toi River. Although most of the shoreline is steep, stony and devoid of aquatic vegetation, at the west end there are some areas of gently shelving muddy shores with a small amount of emergent vegetation.

NAMAL DAM

Namal Lake is located in one corner of the Namal valley in Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan. This lake was created when Namal Dam was constructed in 1913. Namal Dam is situated some 32 km from Mianwali city. Namal Lake spread over 5.5 sq km, in Namal valley. There are mountains on its western and southern sides. On the other two sides are agricultural areas.

NAMAL dam is situated some 32 KM from Mianwali city. This dam is very old. British Government constructed it. When Mianwali became District then the district government buildings were constructed using water stored in Namal Lake from this Namal Dam.

In 1913, British engineers, to meet the scarcity of irrigation and drinking water, built a dam on this lake and from here they irrigated lands up to Mianwali city. But with the passage of time and construction of Thal Canal and installation of tube wells, its utility of water squeezed up to some limit. The gates of the dam are repaired by the irrigation department regularly but without enthusiasm. The hill torrents and rains fill the Namal Lake round the year. Due to a drought-like situation in the country, this lake dried up last year, which is the first incident of its kind during the last 100 years, said one of the senior inhabitants of this area.

An engineer told this correspondent that the name of Namal Dam still exists on the list of dams in the world. Namal Lake is an ideal abode for the migratory birds in winter season when thousands of waterfowls, including Russian ducks and Siberian cranes, land in the lake water. Due to the apathy of the wildlife department, these guest birds are ruthlessly killed by poachers. To save these birds, the wildlife department must declare this lake a sanctuary.

There is beautiful sulphur water fountain near the Numal dam site.People use this water for treatment of different diseases.This sulphur water fountain is very old but even then the flow rate of water is same .If government take care and give attention to this fountain then this can be a great source of sulphur.By drying the water you can get a good quality sulphur from here.

KANPUR DAM

Khanpur Dam is a dam located on the Haro River near the town of Khanpur, about 25 miles from Islamabad, Pakistan. It forms Khanpur Lake, a reservoir which supplies drinking water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi and irrigation water to many of the agricultural and industrial areas surrounding the cities. The dam was named from the former Khanpur village, which was submerged by the reservoir, so a new Khanpur town has been built downstream of the Dam.

The dam was completed in 1983 after a 15-year construction period believed to have cost Rs. 1,352 million. It is 167 feet high and stores 110,000 acre-feet of water.

MISRIOT DAM

Misriot dam is located 12 km southwest 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 southwest of Rawalpindi on Dhamial Road. Ideal for a day trip, the lake has a quiet atmosphere.

WARSAK DAM

The gignatic multi-purpose Warsak Dam 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.

TAUNSA BARRAGE

Taunsa Barrage is located on Indus river in Punjab, Pakistan.

The Taunsa Barrage was completed in 1958, and it has been identified as the barrage with the highest priority for rehabilitation. It requires urgent measures to avoid severe economic and social impacts on the lives of millions of poor farmers through interruption of irrigation on two million acres (8,000 km²) and drinking water in the rural areas of southern Punjab, benefiting several million farmers.

In 2003, the World Bank has approved a $123 million loan to Pakistan to rehabilitate the Taunsa Barrage on the River Indus whose structure had been damaged owing to soil erosions and old-age. This project will ensure irrigation of the cultivated lands in the area of the Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan canals, and through the Taunsa-Panjnad Link Canal that supplements the water supply to Panjnad headworks canals.

TAUNSA BARRAGE (RAMSAR SITE)

Taunsa Barrage wetland site is located 20 km northwest of Kot Adu, Muzaffargarh District, Punjab, Pakistan.

The rare marbled teal Marmaronetta angustirostris is a regular passage migrant and winter visitor in small numbers. The rare Indus dolphin Platanista minor and otter Lutra perspicillata are present in the river in small numbers. The site forms a very important wintering area for waterbirds, (notably Anatidae), and a breeding area for several species, notably Dendrocygna javanica, and a staging area for certain cranes (Grus grus and Anthropoides virgo) and shorebirds. Dendrocygna javanica is a common breeding summer visitor with 325 counted in August 1995. Over 24,000 waterbirds were present in mid-January 1987, including: 620 Phalacrocorax niger, 79 Anser indicus, 2,780 Anas penelope, 770 A. strepera, 4,880 A. crecca, 270 A. platyrhynchos, 1,660 A. acuta, 390 A. clypeata, 4,690 Aythya ferina, 53 Anthropoides virgo, 150 Porphyrio porphyrio and 7,510 Fulica atra, along with fewer numbers of Tachybaptus ruficollis, Tadorna tadorna, Marmaronetta angustirostris, Netta rufina, Aythya fuligula, Hydrophasianus chirurgus, Himantopus himantopus and Numenius arquata.

The wetland was first declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary of 6,567 ha in 1972, the Sanctuary was re-listed in April 1983, then in July 1988 and subsequently in March 1993. It has been proposed that the Indus River from Taunsa Barrage upstream to Kalabagh and downstream to Guddu Barrage be declared as a World Heritage Site for the Indus dolphin Platanista minor.

CHASHMA BARRAGE (RAMSAR SITE)

Chashma Barrage wetland site is located Indus Monsoon Forest, some 25 km southwest of Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan.

The site is comprised of a large barrage, a water storage reservoir and a series of embankments (serving as flood bounds) which divide the reservoir into five shallow lakes at low water levels. The site is comprised of a large barrage, a water storage reservoir and a series of embankments (serving as flood bounds) which divide the reservoir into five shallow lakes at low water levels.

The aquatic vegetation consists of Hydrilla verticillata, Nelumbium speciosum, Nymphaea lotus, Typha angustata, Typha elephantina, Phragmites australis, Potamogeton crispus-Myriophyllum sp.-Nymphoides cristatum, Potamogeton pectinatus, Saccharum spontaneum, Vallisneria spiralis and Zannichellia palustris. The natural vegetation of the region is a mixture of subtropical semi-evergreen scrub and tropical thorn forest. Species include Olea ferruginea, Acacia modesta, A. nilotica, Adhatoda vasica, Dodonaea viscosa, Gymnosporia sp., Prosopis cineraria, Reptonia buxifolia, Salvadora oleoides, Tamarix aphylla, T. dioica, Ziziphus mauritania, Z. nummularia, Chrysopogon aucheri, Lasiurus hirsutus, Heteropogon contortus and Panicum antidotale. Prosopis glandulosa has been introduced in the area. Most of the natural thorn forest on the plains to the east of the Indus has been cleared for agricultural land and for irrigated plantations of Dalbergia sissoo and other species. The rich fish fauna includes Gudusia chapra, Notopterus chitala, Catla catla, Cirrhinus mrigala, C. reba, Labeo rohita, L. microphthalmus, Puntius ticto, P. stigma, Barilius vagra, Wallago attu, Rita rita, Bagarius bagarius, Mystus aor, M. seenghala, Heteropneustes fossilis, Eutropiichthys vacha, Nandus sp., Mastacembelus armatus, M. pancalus, Ambassis nama, A. ranga and Channa punctatus. Other aquatic fauna includes Hirudinaria sp., Palaemon spp., Rana tigrina, Kachuga smithi, Trionyx gangeticus and Lissemys punctata. Mammals occurring in the area include Sus scrofa cristatus, Axis porcinus, Canis aureus, Felis libyca and Lutra perspicillata.

KACCHI CANAL PROJECT

Kachhi Canal Project is located in Punjab, Pakistan. Kachhi Canal Project was started in October 2002. The project, estimated to cost Rs28 billion, is planned as a fast track part of Vision-2025, the national development programme of water and hydropower resources. The first leg of the project comprises 500-kilometre-long Kachhi Canal to off take from Taunsa Barrage with a capacity of 6,000 cusecs. According to the official documents, the project will provide irrigation to 713,000 acres of land and will enhance cropping intensity in the project area from the present 2 per cent to 46 per cent. The Kachhi Canal will be fed through Taunsa Barrage for only six months.