Mumbai continues to pay the price for a poor monsoon, with depleting water stocks proving to be a matter of critical concern. Even after implementing a 10 per cent water cut across the city, water stock in Mumbai's lakes is down to 42 per cent. As of February 17 last year, it was 57 per cent. The summer is yet to even begin and already the available water is less than half. All of which means the possibility of more water cuts in the coming months is very real.
The city gets its water from seven lakes and dams, which have a collective storage capacity of 14.50 lakh million litres. If the lakes are full by October 1, the city, which uses 10 per cent of the stock each month, will get uninterrupted supply till July. However, as of October 1, 2018, the lakes only had 93 per cent water, forcing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to declare a 10 per cent water cut.
But the cuts haven't helped much. The water stocks are still dipping compared to last year. As of Sunday, February 17, 2019, there was 6.14 lakh litres of water in the seven lakes, or 42 per cent. The corresponding figure for 2018 was 8.18 lakh litres (57 per cent) water stock.
In a normal year, the water stocks last till July, by when the monsoon is expected to refresh supply in the lakes.
But this year's stocks are so critically low that even end-June seems like a real possibility. "We are monitoring the situation every day. BMC also has reserves of water beyond what's present in the lakes. A decision on water cuts will be taken soon, but we need to use the available water judiciously," said a senior BMC officer.
The water scarcity issue was particularly a problem in October, when many parts of the city, particularly south Mumbai, Charkop, Jogeshwari, Bhandup, etc., faced uneven water supply. The winter months reduced water demand, but with summer around the corner, this is expected to increase again.
SUMMER IS COMING
- The city has seven lakes and dams with storage of 14.50 lakh million litres.
- There is now 6.14 lakh million litres of water (42%). The corresponding figure for 2018 was 8.18 lakh million litres (57%).
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