ASSIGNMENT- II

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

COURSE TITLE : IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

SUBMITTED TO : ENGR. ABDUL WAHEED

SUBMITTED BY : SALMAN AHMAD (FA17-CVE-082)

SUBMISSION DATE : 23rd NOVEMBER,2020

Q-
Print useful data (design discharge, max. floods, etc.) from ministry of water resources
government of Pakistan.

A-
INTRODUCTION
Pakistan with a population of around 207.774 million (Source: 2017 Census of Pakistan) is
located between latitude 24 °N and 37 °N and encompasses an area of about 796,000 Km2. It
has lofty mountains with towering peaks/heights ranging up to 28,000 feet and mighty rivers
having peak flood discharges more than a million cusecs. It is bounded on the north by
Himalayan Mountain Ranges and its offshoots. The northern mountain barrier influences the
rainfall pattern in Pakistan by intercepting monsoon winds from the south and southwest
(Westerly Waves) and eastern side (Monsoon Weather Systems originating from the Bay of
Bengal, India). Pakistan sometimes turns into destructive floods and results in heavy damages
to public and private sector properties besides loss of precious human lives. High floods are
sometimes caused by the formation of temporary natural dams by landslide or glacier
movements and their consequent collapse.
Pakistan is a country with diverse type of land and fluctuating pattern of climate. Climate is
usually considered hot and dry in Pakistan, but it has shown significant obvious variations in
last few years. Many districts and urban centre located along the river banks are ever on a
great risk to confront with various types of floods i.e. riverine flood, flash flood and urban
floods particularly in Punjab & Sindh provinces. The floods cause damages to hundred
thousand acres of fertile agricultural lands, standing crops and affect adjoining with monetary
loss in billions of rupees. Major direct flood damages in the country are caused to agricultural
lands, standing crops, urban and rural land, besides, other private & public property. The
riverine floods are generally caused due to heavy concentrated rainfall in the river
catchments, during monsoon season, which is sometimes augmented by snow melt flows.
Monsoon currents originating from Bay of Bengal and resultant depressions (weather system)
often result in heavy downpour in the Himalayan foothills, which occasionally generate
destructive floods in main rivers and their tributaries. Sometimes exceptionally high flood
flows in major rivers are generated due to formation of temporary natural dams by landslide
or glacier movement and their subsequent collapse. Flooding of the Indus River and its
tributaries represents the greatest hazard in Pakistan. Floods occur usually in summer season
(July - October). Therefore, damages to agriculture sector are mainly to the standing Kharif
crops. However, in some cases the inundated lands do not dry up in time and ultimately
affecting sowing Rabi crops.
The major rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej) and secondary rivers (Kabul, Swat
etc.) cause flood losses by inundating low lying areas round the rivers bed by damaging
irrigation and communication network, besides, land erosion along the rivers banks. In the
upper part of the Indus Basin (Punjab & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), floodwater spilling over the
high banks of the rivers generally turns back to the main rivers channel.
In the lower parts of the country i.e. Lower Indus Basin (Sindh province), River Indus is
flowing at ridge i.e. higher elevation than adjoining lands. That is why flood embankments
have been provided along both sides of the river. The flood water, if breaches the
embankments do not return to the main river channel. This largely extends the area and
period of inundation resulting in more damages to abadies, standing crops and other private
as well as public infrastructure.
Sometimes breaches are occurred in the flood embankments, when the rivers attain the
Exceptionally High Flood Level {LMB Taunsa Barrage in Punjab & Tori Bund Complex in
Sindh Province incidents during 2010-Floods}. At times, the flood embankments are
breached at pre-determined locations to save the main structures across main rivers (RMB
Jinnah Barrage was operated during Flood Season 2010). The remodelling/ rehabilitation
works of barrages, on the basis of 100 years return period, were taken up by the Punjab &
Sindh province. The rehabilitation of Kalabagh Barrage has been completed and Suleimanki
Barrage was near to completion. The capacity enhancement of Khanki, Trimmu and Balloki
Barrages was also near to completion and Panjnad Barrage will be completed by March 2019.
Discharge capacity of Guddu Barrage has been reduced form 1,500,000 cusecs to 900,000
cusecs. In accordance with the discharge capacity of Sukkur
Snow melting from the mountains and heavy precipitation in the catchment areas feed the
River Indus and its major tributaries i.e. Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum & Swat, Kabul,
besides, other Secondary & Tertiary Rivers, which is one of the mighty river systems of the
world. The flow in the rivers, which is the lifeline for the economy of Pakistan has
consecutively faced series of flood events during the past 6-7 years i.e. since 2010, which
indicates that flood has now become a regular feature in the country.
This is exacerbated by the inadequate surface water storage capacity for absorbing flood
peaks, chronic and increasing threat of encroachments in flood plains, inadequate discharge
capacity of some of Barrages/Bridges, inadequate budget allocation under PSDP and
Provincial ADP for execution of flood projects, weakness in flood defences due to improper
maintenance of existing flood protection structures and importantly a distorted natural
drainage network. Pakistan has suffered a cumulative financial loss of more than US$ 38
Billion during the past 70 years. Around 12,502 people lost their lives, some 197,273
villages damaged/ destroyed and an area more than 616,598 Sq.km was affected due to 25
major flood events. The 2010 floods were worst flooding in the past about 80 years in this
region.