The Issue of Water Distribution as a Replacement Water 

In all its advocacy campaigns, WAPDA has been pleading the reasons of storage loss in Tarbela and Mangla dams, due to sedimentation. And has been, repeatedly emphasizing the need for additional water storage to compensate for the lost capacity in our existing system.

This statement becomes more important in the backdrop of the Indus Water Apportionment Accord 1991, water distribution formulas.

According to the Accord, the existing water resources of Pakistan, as of 1991, shall be distributed in the following proportions among the provinces :

In addition, another clause of the Accord stipulates the distribution of future water resources to be in the following ratio among the provinces:

The comparison of these two tables reveals that:

Keeping these provisions of Indus Water Apportionment Accord in view, the provinces of NWFP and Baluchistan will get more proportionate water out of the new water storages, as compared to what they are getting from the existing water storage. And correspondingly, the provinces of Punjab and Sindh will get less proportionate water out of the new water storages, as compared to what they are getting from the existing water storages.

Therefore, the WAPDA’s statements of considering the KBD storage as a compensation of lost storage of Tarbela and Mangla Dam, will create another controversy of water distribution among the provinces. Because a decision on the consideration of KBD storage (if at all built) on whether to consider it as a new water storage or as a compensation of lost existing storage, will be required, so as to apply the requisite clause of Indus Water Accord for water distribution.