Pakistan’s first underground water reserviour in action
by Yasir Habib Khan
ISLAMABAD, July 14 (Gwadar Pro) - With a view to free many sites and lands around Lahore Orange Line Metro Train from water accumulation and flooding during rainy season, Pakistan’s first “Monsoon Underground Water Reserviour” has come into action in provincial metropolis.
Lahore Orange Line Metro Train, an important part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is ready to be functional soon. Being the first underground water reservoir system in the country, “Monsoon Underground Water Reservoir” has been constructed at Lawrance Garden (famous Bagh-e-Jinnah) within three months, almost 10 months earlier than its actual completion schedule. Built at the cost of Rs. 149 million, the water tank can hold up to 1.5 million gallons of water after a heavy downpour.
Under Monsoon Action Plan 2020, the city’s Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), a government body responsible for the planning and maintenance of water supply and sewerage, identified 22 trouble spots in Lahore. After a monsoon shower, these areas, mostly low lying, would be submerged, forcing residents to wade into waterlogged streets.
Lawrence Garden, a public park dating back to the 1800s, is one of them. With the terrible long-hour water inundation, not only traffic goes out of gear besides vehicles breakdown but also daily life gets disrupted, as people are stranded indoor. The low-lying areas, in particular, are flooded massively.
Other areas identified included the Mall Road near Punjab Assembly, Shahra-e-Fatima Jinnah (known as Queens Road), the building of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, the British Council, the Lahore Zoo and close to the Walled City Authority.
As per teh hydrological data given by WASA after analyzing 5 years maximum daily rainfall, downpour lashes out at the critical point with 117 mm. With its operationability, one of the biggest ponding points at Lawrance and surrounding localities has been eliminated once for all.
The consultant M/S Mott MacDonald Pakistan (MMP), Pvt (Ltd) conducted Master Planning and recommended the construction at Bagh-e-Jinnah for instant of storage water and disposal of rainwater accordingly.
WASA Managing Director Syed Zahid Aziz told Geo TV that WASA employed Underground Stormwater Management billed as Best Management Practices in urban areas for detention and retention of rainwater runoff flow.
In order the make foolproof arrangement, he said, WASA had hashed out three-pronged strategy. “As per the first part, around 600 feet drain has been laid down connecting Lawrance ponding point to underground water reserviour (water storage tank). The facility will let stormwater travel to underground water reserviour swiftly that will help end an era of water stagnation. In case that it rains the whole day and tank is susceptible to cause overflow, WASA has constructed an outer surface reserviour that will accommodate stormwater runoff flow as it has 0.2 million gallons capacity,” he revealed.
“The third contingency plan may come into motion, if both underground and outer-ground tanks start brimming over with excessive water. We have placed another underground drain at the critical site that has been joined to Birdwood drain. No matter how heavy the stormwater is, the spillover will be disposed of through this underground drain in the spur of moment,” he further explained.
On a query, he said having pondered success ratio of the project, the same system may be replicated at the park of university ground near Lake road vicinity, park of Dial Singh College adjacent to known ponding point of Lakshami Chowk to further decrease the rest of ponding points.
“We will try to address water retention issue at the sprawl of Qaddafi Stadium if management concerned agrees to incur the cost,” he disclosed.
When asked whether WASA has a plan to remove all ponding points through underground stormwater management, he said it was not like one size fit all. “Every ponding point has its own topography, land dynamics and local merits & demerits. Keeping in view of relevant facts, engineering measures will be taken accordingly,” he noted.
Yasir Habib Khan is Special Correspondent of Gawadar Pro. He is also president of Institute of International Relations and Media Research (IIRMR).
