Heavy rain, little gain: Mumbai faces water woes

Pic/PTI

Though the heavy rain finally arrived in the city, lakes outside city limits received light to moderate rain, resulting in just a 25,000-litre increase in water stock on Tuesday. The combined water stock reached 20 per cent, and the city continues to face a 10 per cent water cut.

The heavy rain that disrupted city life on Monday and during the intervening night between Monday and Tuesday was reflected in the rainfall received by Vihar and Tulsi lakes within the city. Tulsi received 214 mm, while Vihar registered 196 mm of rain in a day, significantly improving the water stock of these small lakes. However, this won't impact the overall stock as they hardly contribute 2 per cent of the daily supply. All the other five lakes received moderate rainfall, increasing the overall stock by 2 per cent.

The combined water stock of all lake levels increased to 2.96 lakh million litres on Tuesday from 2.71 lakh million litres on Monday. The stock grew by 25,000 million litres. The city needs around 4,500 to 4,900 million litres of water every day, so the added stock will last for five days. The stock is still at 20 per cent, which is comparatively lower than the last two years.