Mumbai, October 1, 2026: Mumbai could recover nearly 400 million litres daily (MLD) of water from its existing network by cutting Non-Revenue Water (NRW) by 10%, the BMC administration told the Standing Committee on Thursday.
Nearly 34% of the city’s 4,100 MLD supply is currently lost to leakages, theft and other distribution losses—nearly as much as the 440 MLD expected from the proposed Gargai Dam.
Mumbai’s seven lakes are holding 13.93 lakh ML of water—96.31% of their combined capacity against the city’s annual requirement of 14.47 lakh ML. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar informed the Standing Committee on Thursday that the stock could last till May 20 if the 10% water cut is lifted, and till June 30 if the cut continues.
The BMC is also working to reduce water losses by at least 10%, a move that could potentially add nearly 400 MLD to the city’s available supply, he added.
BMC Plans Action On Water Losses
To tackle water losses, the BMC will seek to regularise unauthorised connections wherever legal supply is feasible, Bangar said. The civic body has issued 26,774 connections under its 'Water for All' initiative since June 2022.
The BMC is also drafting a tanker policy aimed at stopping tankers serving establishments, including five-star hotels, from drawing water from the municipal network. The proposed OTP-based system will mandate well-sourced water and is likely to be tabled before the Standing Committee in the coming weeks.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Purushottam Malvade said non-revenue water (NRW) does not entirely mean water is being wasted. While 6-7% is lost to leakages, a significant share is attributed to theft and faulty metering—meaning the water is consumed but the BMC earns no revenue from it.
Between January and August 2026, the BMC received 17,906 complaints of water-meter leakages and 4,090 complaints about unauthorised connections. Of the latter, 3,802 were disconnected and 282 regularised.
Action Against Unauthorised Water Connections
Total complaints - 4,090
Connections regularised - 282
Connections disconnected - 3,802
...............................city...eastern suburbs...western suburbs
Complaints received: 1,294 ... 1,528 ... 1,268
Connections regularised: nil ... 194 ... 88
Connections disconnected: 1,294 ... 1,330 ... 1,178
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Of the 17,906 water-meter leakage complaints received between January and August 2026, 5,375 were from the city, 6,513 from the eastern suburbs and 6,018 from the western suburbs. All 17,906 complaints were repaired.
Mumbai’s daily water demand stands at 4,600 MLD, against BMC’s supply of around 4,100 MLD—a shortfall of nearly 500 MLD.
Bhatsa is the city’s largest water source, contributing 48% of the supply, followed by Upper Vaitarna (16%), Middle Vaitarna (12%), Modak Sagar (11%) and Tansa (10%). Tulsi and Vihar lakes together account for the remaining 2%.
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