Authorities have begun drawing down water from the country's major reservoirs after Indus River System Authority (IRSA) started releasing water to meet the irrigation requirements of the four provinces despite a sharp decline in river inflows. Tarbela Dam, which reached its maximum live storage of 5.580 million acre-feet (MAF) on August 9, had maintained almost equal inflows and outflows until September 8. However, from September 9, IRSA started drawing on the stored water to meet provincial irrigation demands as inflows into the Indus, Kabul, Jhelum and Chenab rivers declined substantially.
The drawdown is expected to continue until September 30, with authorities normally using 1 to 1.5 MAF of stored water to meet irrigation requirements as the Kharif season reaches maturity, particularly for sugarcane and rice. Officials are hoping that a rain spell from Monday or Tuesday will help replenish river flows and reduce irrigation demand in the provinces, easing pressure on the reservoirs. "Tarbela's live storage capacity has fallen considerably over the decades because of sedimentation, to 5.580 MAF from 9.6 MAF.
This means the country enters the Rabi season with limited carryover water. It normally faces at least a 10 per cent shortage at the beginning of the season." The situation at Mangla Reservoir is also a cause for concern. The reservoir currently holds 5.733 MAF against its storage capacity of 7.258 MAF.
Its inflows have dropped to around 15,100 cusecs, while outflows have increased to 30,000 cusecs, indicating a rapid drawdown. Mangla, despite its capacity having been enhanced by around 2.99 MAF, could not be filled this year because of inadequate rainfall in its catchment areas and weak hydrology. According to water data for September 10, 2026, Pakistan has around 11.320 MAF of water stored in its reservoirs against a combined storage capacity of 13.149 MAF.
The authorities are currently releasing indented supplies to all the four provinces. Punjab is receiving around 125,400 cusecs, Sindh 135,000 cusecs, Balochistan 12,000 cusecs and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2,600 cusecs.