| Namal Lake | |
|---|---|
| نمل جھیل (Urdu) | |
 A view of Namal Lake in the evening | |
.svg)  Namal Lake Location in Punjab, Pakistan | |
| Location | Namal Valley,Mianwali District,Punjab, Pakistan |
| Coordinates | 32°41′24″N71°48′05″E / 32.69000°N 71.80139°E /32.69000; 71.80139 |
| Type | Reservoir withgravity dam |
| Etymology | Namal means priceless in English[1] |
| Part of | Salt Range Wetlands Complex (SRWC)[2] |
| Catchment area | 164 sq mi (420 km2)[3] |
| Basin countries | Pakistan |
| Designation | Game Reserve[4]: 259 |
| Built | 1913 |
| Surface area | 480 ha (4.8 km2)[4]: 259 |
| Water volume | 630×106 cu ft (0.018 km3) (Average) 2,100×106 cu ft (0.059 km3) (Maximum)[5] |
| Settlements | Namal,Rikhi |
Namal Lake (Urdu:نمل جھیل) is a man-made lake located nearRikhi, a village on one corner of theNamal valley inMianwali District,Punjab,Pakistan. It was formed following the construction of Namal Dam in 1913 (112 years ago) (1913). Namal Dam is situated some 32 km (20 mi) fromMianwali city.
The lake has a surface area of 5.5 km2 (2.1 sq mi).[6] There aremountains on its western and southern sides. On the other two sides areagricultural areas.[7] It serves as a picnic spot for tourists from nearby areas, and functions as a habitat forwaterfowl, Russian ducks, andSiberian cranes that migrate to the area during the winter months.
In 1913, British engineers built a dam on Namal lake to address the scarcity ofirrigation and drinking water for Mianwali city.[6] But with the passage of time, construction of theThal Canal and the installation oftube wells, squeezed up its utility of water up to some limit.
The gates of the dam are repaired by the irrigation department regularly but without enthusiasm. The hill torrents and rains fill the Namal Lake round the year. Due to a drought-like situation in the country, this lake dried up last year, which is the first incident of its kind in the last 100 years.[8]
The Namal Canal was opened in December 1913. It received the Namal water from a lake of dam constructed across a gorge canal between Namal andMusakhel. The tail of the canal was at Mianwali, where it conveyed water to lands in the Civil Station. The canal was included under schedule-1 of the Minor Canals Act of 1905 by Punjab Government notification No. 84, dated 9th June 1914.[9]
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