Water stock in Mumbai lakes hits 3-year high at 61%, but cuts loom

For the record, Mumbai’s regular h2o demands are met by 7 lakes – Tansa, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tulsi, Vehar, Upper Vaitarna, and Middle Vaitarna – which are situated successful the periphery of Mumbai district. It is during the 4 monsoon months that the catchment country of these lakes get replenished, pursuing which h2o is supplied passim the territory done a transmission of pipelines.

According to the the BMC, 1 percent of h2o from the lakes is capable to past 3 days. Despite the banal astatine 61 per cent currently, officials from the civic hydraulic section said the contiguous banal of h2o is not capable to past till monsoon.

Why is Mumbai staring astatine a h2o chopped contempt a three-year precocious successful retention levels?
With the existent banal improbable to past till the onset of monsoon successful June, elder officials said the BMC whitethorn person to invoke a h2o chopped by April. Responding to questions, officials pointed to climate-related factors arsenic good arsenic the fast-increasing request induced by the rising colonisation arsenic cardinal causes for the proviso cut.

“Even though the h2o banal is higher than erstwhile years astatine present, the occupation arises during summers. Owing to heat, the h2o evaporates overmuch faster starring to faster depletion of stock. Furthermore, the rising request is different crushed wherefore the h2o whitethorn decorativeness early,” a elder authoritative told The Indian Express.

“As per our strategy, we person acceptable a people of supplying 4,000 MLD (million litres a day) h2o daily. However, owing to demands by an expanding population, we extremity up supplying 4,050 MLD. Due to this, it is apt that the water levels volition trim aboriginal and we whitethorn person to instrumentality a h2o chopped towards the extremity of April,” the authoritative said.

Following a reappraisal successful April, the authoritative added, the civic assemblage volition besides constitute to the Maharashtra authorities for the allocation of other h2o from the state’s reserves.

In 2024, the metropolis reeled nether a agelong spell of h2o cuts betwixt June and August aft the banal successful lakes plummeted to a three-year low. As the h2o banal depleted astatine an alarming rate, the BMC had written to the authorities government, floating a petition for an other 93,500 cardinal litres of h2o from Upper Vaitarna and for different 1.37 lakh cardinal litres from Bhatsa lake. The authorities authorities acceded to the petition by approving astir 15.76 per cent of its stock.

How is the BMC readying to augment h2o proviso successful Mumbai?
In what points to a pugnacious roadworthy ahead, the city’s h2o demands are projected to spot a 1.5-fold summation successful the adjacent sixteen years.

Already grappling to support up with the burgeoning demands, the civic assemblage has charted respective plans to augment the h2o supply.

Last year, the BMC revived its ambitious plans to physique a dam astatine Gargai Pinjal successful Palghar – a task it had shelved successful 2019 successful a bid to forestall deforestation. The full task is expected to augment the h2o proviso of Mumbai by 865 MLD initially which volition aboriginal summation by 2,800 MLD by 2050.

Previously, plans were afloat to make a desalination works astatine Manori which was projected to proviso 200 MLD by treating seawater but the BMC scrapped the tender for the Rs 3,520 crore task past September owing to feeble effect from bidders. The civic assemblage is, however, inactive exploring possibilities to transportation retired the project.