After a gap of a year, the Morbe Dam located in Khalapur in Raigad district that supplies water to Navi Mumbai overflowed on Tuesday evening following good rainfalls in the catchment areas of the dam in the last week. The dam authority discharged a total of 1123 cusecs of water by opening flap gates of the dam by 25 cm to prevent flooding in the region.
The total storage capacity of the Morbe dam is 190.890 million cubic meters (MCM). On September 28, the storage was recorded over 190.890 MCM, which is 100% of its total capacity. “The maximum water level of the dam is 88 meters that reached on Tuesday,” said an official from Morbe Dam.
Meanwhile, the dam authority started releasing the water on Tuesday evening by opening both the flap gates of the dam for a controlled release. This will ensure that there is no flooding in the region.
In 2019, the catchment area of the had received over 5000 mm rainfalls and the dam had overflown. However, in 2020, the dam level reached around 96% and it could not overflow. This year, the dam overflowed after 3748 mm rainfall in the catchment areas. Now, there will be no water cut next year as the dam has sufficient water to meet the demand.
A senior civic official said that Navi Mumbai is the first municipal corporation to have its own dam in the post-independence period. The dam is located on the Dhavari watershed, a tributary of the Patalganga river in Khalapur taluka of the Raigad district. “It is rich in natural resources and the water is pure as it comes from the pollution-free region of Matheran,” said the official.
“Filling the Morbe Dam at full capacity is a matter of joy and satisfaction for the citizens of Navi Mumbai. However, we need to understand the importance of water and use it properly,” said municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar.
In Numbers:
Dam overflows:
2019-Overflowed
2020- Not overflowed
2021-Overflows
Total capacity: 190.890 million cubic meters (MCM)
Total rainfall in catchment area: 3748 mm
