The Morbe Dam, which supplies water to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) area, has reached an impressive 99.74% capacity, with civic officials anticipating that just one more spell of rainfall will cause the dam to overflow.
The catchment area has already received a significant 3361 mm of rainfall, which is close to the typical threshold of 3300-3400 mm required for the dam to overflow.
Notably, the dam last overflowed in 2021 and 2023, but even at its current level, it has sufficient water to supply the area for the next 333 days, until July 2025. This reduces the likelihood of water cuts during the next summer.
Also Read: Navi Mumbai: Neglected Desilting of Morbe Dam Raises Water Storage Concerns
Following a good spell of rainfall in July and August, the water level in the Morbe Dam has reached its capacity. The dam, located in Khalapur, Raigad district, supplies water to the city and has a total storage capacity of 190.890 million cubic meters (MCM). As of August 28, the storage level was 190.411 MCM, which is 99.74% of its total capacity. The current water level stands at 87.95 meters, just shy of the maximum 88 meters.
While the Morbe Dam's total capacity is 190.890 million cubic meters (MCM), the usable water content is 159.811 MCM, which accounts for 83.72% of the total capacity. However, there are losses to consider. Approximately 10.68 MCM (5.59% of the total capacity) is lost due to evaporation. Additionally, 19.92 MCM (10.43% of the total capacity) is designated as dead storage or carryover storage, which refers to the water in the reservoir below the spillway level," explained an official from NMMC's Water Supply Department.
With over a month of monsoon season still remaining, the civic body is confident that the dam will have adequate water content post-monsoon. For reference, the dam overflowed on September 25, 2023, after receiving 3748 mm of rainfall in the catchment area.
Apart from the NMMC area, the dam supplies water to a few CIDCO-administered area including Kharghar and Kalamboli.
In Numbers:
Dam overflows:
2019-Overflowed
2020- Not overflowed
2021-Overflowed
2022- Not overflowed
2023-Overflwed
Total capacity: 190.890 million cubic meters (MCM)