In the wake of receding levels across reservoirs which supply water to the city, the BMC has predictably announced a 20 per cent cut in the time period for which it supplies water. This comes into effect from today.
A proposal in this regard was approved by the civic standing committee on Wednesday. According to officials, the BMC will enforce the 20 per cent cut in time slots. For example, if residents usually get water supply for an hour, they will receive water for 48 minutes after the cut is imposed.
Hydraulic engineer Ramesh Bambale said the cut will be in force till there is a marked improvement in water stock levels across the six lakes which supply water to Mumbai. “Given the topography of the city, we have to ensure the pressure at which water is supplied remains constant during the water cut period too. Hence, the quantity of water supplied to citizens will be reduced by 20 per cent and vary between 10 per cent and 15 per cent, depending upon the area. We will start supplying water as per the old schedule in areas where the 24x7 slot is executed normally,” said Bambale.
“Even though Mumbai witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday night, the catchment areas had not received adequate showers. On Wednesday, there were reports of a cloud hogging skyline in the lakes region. So we are hopeful of an improvement in water levels," Bambale added.
In a normal situation, the corporation supplies a deficit supply of 3,750 million litres daily (MLD) as against an actual need of 4,200 MLD. The corporation provides a supply of 135 litres per head in a five-member family in buildings. For chawls and slums, the quantity of water supplied per head is 45 MLD.
Meanwhile, the BMC has again appealed to residents to use water judiciously until lake levels go up. “We received only 20 per cent of the average total rainfall in catchment areas for the month of June. But we are hopeful things will improve in July and August. Until then, we request citizens to co-operate with us,” said a senior official from the hydraulic engineering department.
Mumbai’s annual water requirement is 12.56 million litres.
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