Marathwada: Jayakwadi Dam's Dead Storage Tapped To Supply Water

The water level in the Jayakwadi dam has considerably decreased, leading to the city's water supply being sourced from the dam's dead storage. Currently, only 7 per cent of the dam's water capacity remains, indicating an impending water scarcity in the entire Marathwada region.

Approximately 116 TMC of water is daily supplied from the Jayakwadi dam, with a mere 7.27 per cent of water remaining in the reservoir. Consequently, water supply will now rely on the dam's dead storage.

Last year, on May 8, the dam held 48.08 per cent water storage. However, this year, below-average rainfall has exacerbated the water shortage at the beginning of May. Accordingly, the administration has opted to allocate water exclusively for drinking purposes to projects dependent on the Jayakwadi dam's water supply, sourced from the dead storage. Consequently, only 0.29 TMC of water will be released daily for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, DMIC, Paithan MIDC, Waluj, Chitegaon, and other projects.

Over the past 49 years, water has been drawn from the dead storage only for 12 years since 1975, sources said.