Islamabad’s Groundwater Drops to Alarming Levels Without Natural Recharge Sources

The groundwater level in Islamabad has gone down and it is only present in a few pockets which are also depleting, as there is no natural source of groundwater recharge available in the federal capital, official documents have revealed.

Interior Ministry documents revealed that the extent of depletion varies in different areas. As far as areas like Sector G-11 and beyond are concerned, there is no general aquifer (underground water-bearing strata) available and groundwater is only present in a few pockets which are also depleting.

The main reason for groundwater depletion in Islamabad is the fact that there is no natural source of groundwater recharge available in Islamabad, whereas, the groundwater, wherever available, is being extracted and supplied to meet the demands of the residents of the Capital.

The documents further revealed that presently there is no proposal under consideration of the Government to construct small dams in Islamabad, particularly near Margallah Hills due to the non-availability of feasible dam sites.

In 2005, a study was undertaken by CDA to explore the possibility of constructing 6 small dams in the foothills of Margalla but none of them proved feasible due to technical reasons. However, recently it has been planned to construct a dam at Shahdara in the ICT region which is subject to the outcome of its feasibility study.

A PC-I regarding Rain Water Harvesting for groundwater recharge in Islamabad has been approved by CDA-DWP for the construction of 100 recharging wells, out of which 45 have already been completed and work on the remaining wells is in progress. The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) is rendering technical assistance in this Project.


  • I am exploring groundwater since 6 years all over Pakistan and Islamabad, I have enough data to interpret, can I write an article to publish here…?

  • BAN real estate business, bcz, the mushroom growth of the housing societies, like Bahria, DHA, Askari, Fizaia, and uncountable real estate business empires at one hand the water level is going rapidly down, and the second the green areas are been eliminated becuse of the huge concrete structures.


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