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Water levels in the seven lakes supplying the city have dropped to 38% of their total capacity. While the current stock is enough for the next four months, rising temperatures and evaporation could further deplete it, raising concerns among civic officials.
As a precautionary measure, the BMC has requested a reserve stock from the state government, including 68,000 million litres (ML) from Upper Vaitarna and 1.13 ML from Bhatsa lakes, to be used if the monsoon is delayed.
As of Wednesday, the seven lakes are holding 5.45 lakh ML of water, against total capacity of 14.47 lakh ML. This marks a nearly 6% increase compared to the same time last year. However, official from BMC's water department said that the intense heat and high evaporation rates could deplete the water reserves in the coming weeks.
The evaporation loss alone is estimated to account for nearly 9% of Mumbai's daily water requirement, raising concerns about the city's future water supply.
"We currently have no plans for water cuts, and the available stock is sufficient to last until the monsoon arrives," said a senior civic official. However, in the event of a water shortage, the civic body has requested the state government’s approval to withdraw water from the reserve stock of the Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa lakes, which fall under the state’s jurisdiction.
The official further added, "The reserve stock would only be tapped in case of a delayed monsoon or a potential water scarcity. Since any withdrawal from these reserves would incur charges, which the civic body must pay to the state government for the use of the water."Last year, the BMC had to withdraw water from the reserve stock after a delayed monsoon in June.
The city also experienced a 10% water cut for a month in 2024. Currently, the BMC supplies 3,950 million liters (ML) of water daily to the city, while the demand stands at 4,463 ML per day. However, a 34% of the daily supply, equivalent to 1,343 ML, is lost due to theft, leakages, and pilferage—referred to as Non-Revenue Water (NRW).
Total water stock in seven lakes on March 26.
