The water supply to Rawalpindi, which was initially suspended on when a large number of dead fish floated to the surface of the Rawal Dam, has on Sunday been restored.
The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) official has made it clear that preliminary reports from the Regional Research Laboratory Public Healthcare have found no arsenic in the Rawal Dam Lake’s water, however, water samples have been dispatched to the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) and the Punjab Forensic Laboratory for further tests.
Reports further suggested that initial tests of the water had confirmed that the large aquifer had become poisonous, possibly owing to effluents from nearby poultry farms and agriculture fields in the catchment areas of the dam measuring around 10 square miles.
The fisheries department in Islamabad also registered an FIR against unidentified mafia living around the lake for allegedly poisoning the water. WASA spokesperson Umer Farooq confirmed that the SDO had stopped water supply from the Rawal Lake.
According to WASA, 24 million gallons of water is supplied to Rawalpindi through Rawal Dam on daily basis.
