Warning: Mumbai may soon face water cuts

The city may soon face major water cuts. If the situation remains the same throughout the monsoon season, water cuts may even be extended over a year.

"Yes, water cuts are inevitable at this point of time and we will soon take a decision. At present, we have a total rainfall of 105 mm in catchment areas. It used to be 470 mm last year. We will assess the situation by June 30," a senior civic official said.

As of Wednesday, the city's total water stock stood at 1.44 lakh million litres. The same time last year, it was 3 lakh million litres. The city is supplied 3,900 million litres of water every day against its requirement of 4,250 million litres.

The meteorological department had already warned that monsoon this year will be weak. "If there are no rains in the next seven days, not much can be expected. We will have to educate and prepare citizens to use water judiciously," said the official.

The city faced a similar situation in 2009, when catchment areas received extremely scanty rainfall. That time, BMC imposed water cuts of up to 30% by August. Round-the-year cuts were announced as the lakes supplying water to the city failed to hit its full capacity.