LOCSS Partnered With Pakistan Council Of Water Resources, Or PCRWR, Which Played A Unique And Important Role In Our Expansion Into Pakistan.
We are excited to announce that LOCSS has expanded to its fifth country. LOCSS Has Partnered With The Pakistan Council Of Water Resources, Or PCRWR, Which Has Played A Unique And Important Role In Our Expansion Into Pakistan. PCRWR has committed to building and maintaining a network of LOCSS study lakes and gauges throughout the country. They began this work earlier this month when they installed gauges in two lakes, Keenjhar Lake and Manchar Lake in the south of Pakistan.
Keenjhar Lake is located in the Thatta district of the Sindh province. Nestled between Karachi and Hyderabad, two of the largest cities in Pakistan, and located close to Thatta, a former medieval capital of the country, this lake is well traveled to by many people in the region and is a great escape for city-dwellers. An estimated 15,000 people traveling to the shores of Keenjhar Lake each week allow for the tourism industry in the area to thrive. In addition to tourism and recreation, fishing is a large industry due to the 48 different species of fish that live in the lake.
Spanning a total of 9,842 hectares, or around 38 square miles, and having an average depth of around 6 meters, Keenjhar Lake is Pakistan’s second-largest freshwater lake. Only Manchar Lake, located a few hours north of Keenjhar Lake, is larger.
As for how Keenjhar Lake came to be, one does not have to look further than the 1950s when a link between the Sonehri and Keenjhar Lakes was made after building an embankment on one side of the lakes. This connection allowed for the people of the Thatta district and the city of Karachi to obtain a stable source of drinking water.
The water in this lake comes from the Indus River, which flows from the mountains of the Himalayas. The Indus River flows parallel to the lake and water is diverted away from the main channel to replenish it. Our partners at the PCRWR chose this lake to be a part of the LOCSS study because of its importance in the region. Many local people rely on the lake to provide clean drinking water and fish for them, many tourists use its waters for recreation and impact the health of the lake, and many organisms call the lake home and depend on the consistency of certain factors in the lake in order to survive.
Manchar Lake, located in the Dadu District in south Pakistan, is the country’s largest freshwater lake. Its surface area fluctuates greatly throughout the year, ranging in size from about 135 square miles during the dry season, to 200 square miles during monsoon season. It is a human-made lake that receives runoff from the nearby Kirthar Mountains, as well as two canals. It drains into the Indus River, which drains into the Arabian Sea.
We are excited to welcome Keenjhar Lake and Manchar Lake into our LOCSS study as the first lakes in Pakistan. The lake height data for these lakes will appear on each lake’s data page as we begin to receive measurements. We are especially thankful for the work that PCRWR is doing, as we would not be able to begin studying lakes in Pakistan without it. We are looking forward to expanding our network of lakes in the region, and continuing working with PCRWR!