The first rainwater rechargeable well in Islamabad was inaugurated by Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) Muhammad Usman Younis this week in sector H-8/2 of Islamabad.
Muhammad Ashraf, Chairman of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) briefed about the importance and design of the project.
Sahibzad Khan, Director General of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) appreciated the project and stressed that such projects should be launched in the rest of the urban cities of Pakistan to mitigate the challenges of climate change on groundwater depletion/recharge.
Mr. and Sardar Khan Zimri, Deputy Director General of Water Management, CDA, and other officials also attended the inauguration ceremony.
Rainwater Harvesting for Groundwater Recharge
The project “Rainwater Harvesting for Groundwater Recharge in Islamabad” includes building 100 rainwater rechargeable wells at different places in the federal capital. Out of the total, construction work on 60 wells has already been completed, while work on other 40 wells is being carried out at a fast pace, according to a statement issued by the CDA. All the rechargeable wells will soon be completed and functional, the chairman CDA was informed.
After studying the results of these 100 wells, more rechargeable wells will be constructed in all government buildings and schools in the federal capital.
The recharge wells are about 150 to 160 feet deep and are constructed in areas where rainwater stands for 12 to 14 hours, the CDA chairman was further briefed.
As the rainwater seeps into the soil and gets absorbed into the underground layer, it recharges the underground water level, like any natural water well. The CDA Chairman was further informed that it has been observed that even a little rain increases the level of underground water. These wells are estimated to help save more than one million gallons of rainwater.
The CDA officials also said that flow meters and other devices had been installed at the rechargeable wells, which help monitor the amount of groundwater and water absorbed into the ground. These rainwater wells also have a special filtration system to keep the water clean from pollutants.
The chairman issued instructions to the officers of the concerned departments and said that maintenance of these rechargeable wells should also be done on a daily basis.