Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde Orders Well & Borewell Audit As Rising Temperatures Strain City's Water Supply

Mumbai: Facing rising temperatures and mounting stress on Mumbai’s water supply, Mayor Ritu Tawde has ordered civic officials to swiftly update records of all wells and borewells and conduct rigorous inspections to ensure their operational readiness, safeguarding the city against future water crises.

Review Meeting & Rationale

Tawde recently held a review meeting with senior BMC Water Department officials, directing them to strengthen water management and optimize existing reserves to prevent potential shortages. "With Mumbai’s growing population, rising water demand, and increasing uncertainty in rainfall due to climate change, it is imperative to manage the city’s water supply sustainably and through multiple approaches. The intensifying summer only adds to the challenge," said Tawde.

As an immediate measure, she has directed officials to update records of all public, government, and private wells and borewells in Mumbai and assess their operational status, aiming to identify additional water sources to supplement the city’s supply during peak demand. Recalling the 2009 water shortage caused by deficient rainfall, she highlighted how the BMC had relied on repaired public wells to mitigate the crisis. Based on that experience, Tawde directed that functional wells be prioritised for immediate use and non-operational ones repaired where possible.

Potable Water & Groundwater Regulation

The officials of water department has been instructed to test whether water from these sources can be treated for drinking, rather than restricting it to non-potable purposes such as gardening and cleaning. The Mayor urged private housing societies to maintain wells and borewells and install purification systems where needed, while warning against over-extraction of groundwater and stressing sustainable, regulated usage. She also urged housing societies to adopt rainwater harvesting systems, noting their role in maintaining groundwater levels and improving long-term water security.

Mumbai’s water comes from seven lakes— Tulsi and Vihar within the city, and five others located 100–175 km away in Palghar, Thane, and Nashik districts. Mumbai receives 4,000 million litres (ML) of water daily falling short of the 4,463 ML demand. By 2041, demand is projected to rise 1.5 times to 6,900 ML per day. Despite heavy investment in replacing old pipelines, water loss has surged to 34%, up from 20% in 2009, as per the civic sources.

As of April 5, the seven lakes supplying water to the city collectively hold 5.45 lakh million litres, which is 37.7% of their total capacity. According to civic official, this stock is expected to meet the city’s demand until July, and therefore, no immediate water cuts are planned. However, rapid evaporation due to rising temperatures is emerging as a significant challenge. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation to ensure the supply remains stable over the coming months.

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