Mumbai: Water stock in lakes at 92 per cent, heavy rain expected in coming days

This picture has been used for representational purpose

The stock in the lakes that supply water to Mumbai touched 92 per cent on Monday. Though it is on the lower side compared to the past two years, civic authorities are upbeat at the forecast of heavy rain in the coming weeks. They expect the reservoirs to be full by the end of this month which will ensure uninterrupted water supply to the city till the next monsoon.

The seven lakes - Tansa, Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middler Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tulsi and Vihar - have a combined storage capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres. On Monday, the lakes had 13.35 lakh ML of water, said officials. The BMC supplies 3,850 million litres a day to the city.

The overall water stock in the reservoirs was below 18 per cent till mid-July. Heavy downpours followed soon, significantly pushing up the stock. But August was comparatively drier and could not contribute much to the stock. As rain revisited this week, the stock inched towards the brim, though it was a bit higher in the previous two years. While it stood at 14.16 lakh ML water (97.9 per cent) on September 6, 2020, the figure was 14.2 lakh ML water (98.1 per cent) the same day in 2019.

"If all the lakes are filled up to 100 per cent at the end of September then the stock is enough to supply water for the next 10 months. There is a whole month ahead and IMD predicted good rainfall in the coming week, so we are hopeful," said an official from the hydraulic department.

Water stock
2021 13.35 92.2%
2020 14.16 97.9%
2019 14.20 98.1%
As on September 6 (in lakh million litres)