Mumbai to Have Adequate Water Supply Till July 15 Despite Decreased Reservoir Levels, Say Officials

During Summers many parts of Mumbai are experiencing water supply shortage, but Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gargani has informed that even though the water level of Bhatsa and Tansa reservoirs that supply water to the city has decreased, the municipal administration has planned that water will be sufficient till July 15. He pointed out that this year the Meteorological Department has predicted that the monsoon season will start on time and provide satisfactory rainfall. So, it is clear that for the time being, there is no hanging sword of water cut on Mumbaikars.

In total, 3.95 billion liters of water are supplied to Mumbai daily from seven dams: Upper Vaitrana, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Madhya Vaitrana, Bhatsa, Vihar, and Tulsi. Currently, only 28% of water storage is available in these dams. With the increasing temperature, there is a risk of water evaporation and depletion of storage. Therefore, approximately 293,552 liters of water, along with reserve water, must be utilized until the rainy season. The municipality has not yet enforced water conservation measures.

Additional water storage:

- Upper Vaitrana and Bhatsa are the primary dams under state government control among the seven reservoirs.
- Upper Vaitrana has a storage capacity of 227.047 million liters, with an additional 91.130 million liters provided by the state government.
- Bhatsa has a capacity of 717.037 million liters, with an extra 137 million liters of storage.

Decisions regarding Modak Sagar, Middle Vaitrana, and Upper Vaitrana will be made in May. Water supply will be planned based on the reserve water until the onset of the monsoon. The decision on water usage, including potential restrictions, will be made in May after reviewing the water levels in the dams. A senior official in the municipality's water department mentioned that a decision on restricting water usage in swimming pools will be considered in May.do A senior officer in the municipality's water department said that a decision will be taken in May on whether to restrict the use of water in swimming pools.