Despite the city witnessing a dry spell, the total stock in the seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai surpassed 97 per cent of the total capacity on Tuesday morning. The cumulative water at the seven lakes now stands at 14.05 lakh million litre.
On Tuesday, the lake levels soared to 97.12 per cent, which is significantly higher than last year, when the water stock had remained at 90.69 per cent on the same day. In 2022, the water stock had jumped to 98 per cent on September 3.
The fear of the likelihood of water cuts until mid-2025 was already allayed in August when the cumulative water stock touched 90 per cent.
According to civic officials, every one per cent of water accounts for three days’ supply and the current quantum of water is expected to last for 291 days which is equal to over nine months.
Earlier this year, owing to rapid evaporation amid warm summers, the water in the lakes had plummeted to nearly 5 per cent by June, hitting a three-year low. However, with the city receiving excess rain in the month of July, the lakes in Mumbai and its neighbouring districts replenished significantly with at least four of the seven lakes filling to the brim and overflowing.
Mumbai receives water from seven lakes — Tulsi, Vihar, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna — which are situated across Mumbai, Thane and Nashik districts.
The catchment areas of these lakes get filled during the monsoons, following which the water is supplied through a network of pipelines throughout the year.
Data furnished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation shows that between Monday and Tuesday morning, the highest quantum of rain was recorded over Modak Sagar, 21 mm of rainfall, followed by Middle Vaitarna and Bhatsa lakes, which received 20 mm of rainfall each.
Meanwhile, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai is unlikely to witness heavy downpour anytime soon amid a forecast of only moderate rains in the city as well as its neighbour Thane, until Saturday at least. Between Monday and Tuesday morning, the IMD’s Santacruz station registered 21.9 mm of rainfall while the Colaba coastal observatory received 6.2 mm of rainfall.
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