Pakistan is fully converting to an automated system for distribution of water among provinces using a computer tool.
This move falls in conformity in line with Water Accord.
The country has created an application that is which is financed from the Australian government to eliminate the manual process of distribution of water.
The instrument has been transferred to the provincial governments and the federal authorities to distribute water.
It could help predict the flow of rivers; losses to the system and gains; as well as the water supply for the crops.
It is the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has been running this tool in tandem with a manual tools for the past three years.
Now, the manual method that distributes water, the system operation and forecasting flows in the river has been concluded.
The nation has changed to an automation system for delivery of water as well as system management.
An Irsa meeting Irsa took place at the office in Islamabad on September 12 , with the chairman of the body Zahid Hussain Junejo in the chair to discuss the progress and adoption in the Water Accord Apportionment (WAA) tool, as well as additional proposed changes.
The software Tool was developed in collaboration with the ministry of water resources (MoWR); Irsa; Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Provincial department of irrigation (PIDs) and Australian Government by way of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organidation (CSIRO) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
The tool software was developed in the last three years.
This meeting attended by everyone from Irsa members as well as technical personnel Wapda advisers and representatives of PIDs. CSIRO had a representative in the form of the project Director the Dr Mobin Dr. ud Din Ahmed.
ACIAR’s Research Program Coordinator in charge of Water Dr Neil Lazarow and Pakistan Country Manager Dr Munawar Kazmi were also present.
Following this discussion on technical aspects the ceremony took place at MoWR to transfer this WAA Tool report for the joint secretary of MoWR, Muhammad Mehr Ali Shah, Irsa, Wapda and representatives of PIDs.
The ACIAR representative was pleased with the cooperative cooperation of all participants in the creation of this tool. and particularly Irsa’s part in the process.
The tool was initially designed to include the capability of planning ahead, which was successfully utilized by various stakeholder organizations currently.
The expert suggested an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Plan, which takes into account all the factors in play, as well as their interplay and influence on one another, must be developed.
Effective and efficient management of resource of water was the obligation of the current generation to to pass on the legacy to the generations to come for the long-term sustainability for the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS).
The CSIRO representative informed Irsa on the development process of the tool, and stated it was designed to ensure consistency, transparency and fair distribution of the surface resources of the IBIS across the members to the WAA.
The reason for this was to collect the intricate IBIS river and reservoir operation and convert these into a user-friendly tool, and to build capacity of the stakeholder organizations.
He said that precise and reliable planning for the pre-season was crucial due to the importance of meeting provincial needs with the small storage capacity of 10% of the system. The system is also rapid decline in the reliability of reservoir storage due to sedimentation, high inflow variability and the erratic timing of inflows with climate change scenarios which is further complicated with the growing demands for water.
All Irsa members applauded the group effort of members of the Pakistani and Australian side.
This opportunity for co-development allowed both sides to benefit from one another’s experiences in the field and then apply it in a productive manner.
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They strongly favored including mid-seasonal plans within the tool in order to strengthen it and be capable of short-term system operation.
They also proposed an overall IWRM model that could account for inputs from ground and surface water sources rain, seepage, temperature, etc . to examine their intricate interplay.
The Wapda advisors along with PID representatives also praised the collaboration that resulted with the creation of a computer tool. They also supported the mid-seasonal planning function within it.
The discussion was concluded. Irsa chairman acknowledged the Australian government, as well as the responsible agencies, including CSIRO, ACIAR and DFAT and all the participants from the Pakistani side for their concerted effort.
The software is a highly dynamic planner, and could be improved by incorporating the mid-seasonal plan, etc. as requested and discussed.
He emphasized the necessity of having regular workshops, seminars in training, and capacity-building strategies to enable Irsa and stakeholder employees to be able to carry out the analysis of data and research independently , so that they can reap long-term benefits from the collaborative task.
The addition of the reach-wise loss and gains as well as auditing of water accounts capabilities will enhance the utility of the tool through the use of data collected daily from the forthcoming telemetry system.
ACIAR and CSIRO representatives agreed to CSIRO as well as ACIAR representatives agreed to examine the suggestion of Irsa to incorporate the mid-seasonal planning capabilities into WAA. WAA tool.
