Mumbai’s seven lakes and dams that provide drinking water to the city have water stock that will last only 42 days due to delayed monsoon, reported Hindustan Times.
As of June 21, the seven lakes – Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Bhatsa, Vihar, and Tulsi – have useful water stock of 1.54 lakh litres, while the total storage capacity is 14.47 lakh litres. Last year the city had 82,829 litres of water. However, this year’s water stock is less than 13.09 per cent recorded in 2018 during the same time.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials have assured people that there is no need to panic. Since a good monsoon has been predicted, water will be available when it rains, officials said.
‘This year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted normal rainfall in Mumbai. So far the rainfall in Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna and some other dams are better than last year. The water levels in these dams are also higher than last year. So there is nothing to worry about availability of water as of now,’ P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (Hydraulic department) told the media.
The BMC supplies 3,750 million litres of water daily to the city. As per the civic body’s June 21 report, while Modak Sagar has 25 per cent of water stock available, Tansa has 11.37 per cent, Middle Vaitarna 14.23 per cent, Bhatsa 9.72 per cent, Vihar 22.27 per cent and Tulsi has 30.64 per cent. Meanwhile, Upper Vaitarna has no useful water stock left.
Bhatsa makes up for 50 per cent of the water supply to Mumbai. While Middle Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, and Modak Sagar make up for 37% of the water supply, Tansa, Vihar, and Tulsi makes up for 10 per cent, 2 per cent, and 1 per cent of the total water supply, respectively.
