Mumbai has water for 5 months, reveals BMC data

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The soaring temperatures in the city may be cause for alarm among citizens, but, authorities have assured, that as far as water supply is concerned, Mumbai has eno­ugh stock to last the next five months, at least. This essentially means the city won't suffer water cuts this year.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) data, all seven lakes that supply water to the city currently have 5.66 lakh million litres of water in store, as of April 7. In 2015 and 2016, at this time, the water stock was 4.05 lakh million and 4.81 lakh million litres respectively. The seven lakes - Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa, Bhatsa, Vihar and Tulsi - have a maximum capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres. So, the current stock is 39.15 per cent of the total useable content in lakes.

A senior civic official from the water department said, "The water in the lakes will last till September. So, we won't need to impose water cuts, as the monsoon is expected to hit the city in June. The situation is much better compared to last year, when the city had only 27.98 per cent of useable water in the lakes." Last year, due to poor rainfall the previous year, the BMC had imposed a 15 per cent water cut through the year. While the seven lakes provide the city with a water supply of 3,750 million litres daily, the requirement is 4,200 million litres.