Rawal Lake () in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

is an artificial

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

that provides the water needs for the cities of

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

and

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. The facility is maintained by Punjab Irrigation Department. Almost 70% of the catchment area of the lake is located in Murree while 30% is located in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).The fishing contracts for the lake are awarded by the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration. Korang River along with some other small streams coming from Margalla Hills have been set to form this artificial lake which covers an area of . Korang River is the outlet stream of Rawal Dam. Rawal Lake is located within an isolated section of the Village Malpur, Bani Gala and

Margalla Hills National Park Margalla Hills National Park () is a List of national parks of Pakistan, national park in Pakistan located in Islamabad Capital Territory, near its northern boundary with Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The park includes the Margalla Hills, ...

. Rawal Lake is contaminated with sewage nowadays from 2024. The dam has played a critical role in meeting water needs of the population, irrigating farmlands,

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

, and serving as natural habitat for various species of birds, fish, and other aquatic life.

History

History of the dam can be traced back to early 20th century when British Government intended to construct a dam across the Korang River to meet the water demand of

which was considered as one of the largest cities in the region. Later on, in 1958 Government of Pakistan conducted a feasibility study for construction of dam and after due consultations project for construction of the Rawal Dam was awarded to an Italian firm namely Salini Impregilo. The dam was inaugurated by Ayub Khan in 1962 and it served as a major infrastructure progress.

Recreation

The area around the lake has been planted with flowering trees and laid out with gardens, picnic spots, and secluded paths. The terraced garden and the lake are used for picnics, fishing, and boating. The highest point in the garden offers a panoramic view of the lake, Margalla and Murree hills, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. Boating, sailing, water skating, and diving facilities are organized by private clubs. To the west of the lake is the Islamabad Club. The Islamabad Club is a government-organized institution that provides various sporting facilities.

Fauna

Wildlife

The reservoir is of considerable importance for wintering waterfowl, especially Anas platyrhynchos. Here the resident mammals include the

Red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

Indian pangolin The Indian pangolin (''Manis crassicaudata''), also called thick-tailed pangolin and scaly anteater, is a pangolin native to the Indian subcontinent. Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping Scale (zoology), scales on its body which act as ...

, Indian crested porcupine, jungle cat, Persian jackal, Central Asian boar and yellow-throated marten, reptiles include Indian Cobra and

Russell's Viper Russell's viper (''Daboia russelii)'' is a species of highly venomous snake in the Family (biology), family Viperidae. The species is native to South Asia. It was Species description, described in 1797 by George Shaw (biologist), George Shaw and ...

. The majority of Birds of Islamabad are found here.

Fishery

There are 15 fish species belonging to 11 genera that are present in Rawal Lake. The fish species in Rawal Lake and its tributaries include: Doula (''Channa channa''), Rahu (''Labeorohita''), Thaila (''Catla catla''), Mori (''Cirrhinus mrigala''), Carp fish (''Cyprinus carpio'') and Talapia (''Tilapia mossambica'').M.phil Thesis- Saadullah Ayaz- Ecological Zonation Margallah
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Features of Rawal Lake

*Location: Islamabad Park Area *Longitude: 73° 7' E *Latitude: 33° 41' N *Catchments Area: 106.25 square miles (275 km²)

Features of Rawal Lake dam

*Type of dam: partly arched gravity dam (stone-masonry) *Crest level: *Crest length: *Maximum height: Rawal dam

Saddle

*Length *Height

Spillway

*Type: Ogee gated structure *Discharge Capacity: 82000 ft³/s (2,300 m³/s)

Reservoir

*Area: *Maximum depth: *Live storage: *Dead storage: *Gross capacity:

Canals

*Left bank canal(Shahana Disty): length **Capacity: 40 ft³/s (1.1 m³/s) *** Purpose: Irrigation *Right bank canal (Ojri Disty): length **Capacity: 70 ft³/s (2.0 m³/s) *** Purpose: Drinking water supply to Rawalpindi

Drinking water supply

*Rawalpindi:

Command area

*Agriculture:

Notes

References

*Small Dams Organization(Govt. Of The Punjab, Irrigation Department, Development Zone, Lahore, Small Dams Organization, Islamabad) {{Dams in Pakistan Lakes of Islamabad Dams in Pakistan Tourist attractions in Islamabad