The rapidly depleting stock in the seven lakes has forced the BMC to impose an additional 5% water cut in Mumbai from today (June 5). The citizens will now face a 10% cut till the lake levels improve satisfactorily, said a senior civic official. As on Tuesday, just 7% or 1.02 lakh million litres of water is left in the seven lakes.
The official date of monsoon onset in Mumbai is June 11. The weather bureau has predicted its timely arrival. While the people anxiously await for the monsoon to get rid of heat and water woes, the lake levels have dropped drastically. So, the civic authorities imposed a 5% cut in the city from May 30. The BMC also started withdrawing additional stock from Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa lakes.
“Though the lake levels have dropped, we can still use 2.28 lakh million litres of water from Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa for which approval was taken from the state government in February. We are taking regular review of the stock and also keeping a tab on weather updates from the India Meteorological Department,” said a senior civic official. The BMC has also appealed to Mumbaikars to use water judiciously, the official added.
The 10% water cut will also have an impact on the water supply given to Thane, Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporations as well as other villages. The lakes should have a total stock of 14.47 lakh million litres on October 1 to maintain year-long supply. Due to less rainfall in October last year, the lakes had a deficit of 5% stock from the beginning. Last year, a water cut of 10% was imposed for a month, which was withdrawn by August 9. The seven lakes supply 3,900 million litres of water daily to the city.
