As of 6 am on June 21, the combined water stock in the seven lakes supplying Mumbai stood at just 8.68% of total capacity. Despite 21 days of June having passed, the city has received insufficient rainfall, resulting in critically low reservoir levels.
To address the situation, the Maharashtra government has approved the release of reserve water from two key reservoirs. Around 93,500 million litres have been made available from Upper Vaitarna Dam, while 137,000 million litres have been allocated from Bhatsa Dam.
According to civic officials, the available water in the seven reservoirs along with the reserve stock is expected to meet Mumbai's drinking water requirements until mid-July. However, the declining storage levels have forced the civic body to tap into emergency reserves.
Mumbai receives approximately 4,100 million litres of water daily from the seven reservoirs, Modak Sagar, Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Vihar, Tulsi and Tansa. To ensure uninterrupted supply throughout the year, the reservoirs collectively require a storage capacity of 1.447 million million litres. At present, only 125,525 million litres of water remain available.
The BMC had already imposed a 10% water cut across the city from May 15 due to dwindling reserves. Officials have now warned that an additional 10% reduction in water supply may be implemented from July 1, taking the total water cut to 20%, if rainfall remains inadequate.
Civic authorities said the decision is part of long-term drinking water management planning, as uncertainty over monsoon patterns and the possible impact of El Niño continue to pose challenges for water availability in the coming weeks.
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