Mumbai gets better water suply as Tulsi lake overflows with rain

In some good news for Mumbaikars, heavy rain in the catchment area have led to Tulsi lake overflowing on Monday. Tulsi became the first lake to overflow this monsoon. Last year, it started overflowing on July 27.

Tulsi lake supplies 18 million liters of water to Mumbai daily. “The overflowing of Tulsi lake is a good sign. It will help improve the water situation of the city,” said Ramesh Bambale, a hydraulic engineer. “We hope that other major lakes like Bhatasa, Upper  Vaitarna and Modaksagar will start overflowing before July 31,” he said.

The catchment areas of lakes like Modaksagar, Tansa, Vihar, Tulsi, Upper Vaitarna & Bhatsa have been receiving good rainfall for the five days. Water levels in the catchment areas are also rising gradually. The city authorities are more concerned about Bhatasa as the lake supplies 60% of the water to the city. Other lakes are also nearing the overflowing mark. Modak Sagar is also 1.40m away from the overflow mark. 

BMC officials said the lake levels at Bhatasa, Upper Vaitarna and Vihar, which supply a large share of water to the city, are also increasing.

Rains have resulted in a rise in lake levels. The water level at Modak Sagar is 159.38meters, while Tansa at 122.41 meters. The Vihar lake water level is at 77.15, while Upper Vaitarna at 597.72 meters and Bhatsa at 120.3 meters. All these lakes are only 4 to six feet away from the overflowing mark. Water content in all six lakes are 4,44,687 million liters and the city need 3,000 million liters daily.