Comfortable water stocks, BMC rules out cuts for Mumbai this summer

Mumbai: The civic administration has ruled out any water cuts for Mumbai this summer, citing comfortable water stocks in the city's seven lakes. At present, the reservoirs hold 6.44 lakh million litres of water, or 44.54% of their total capacity.Additional municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar said there is no immediate need for water cuts, as apart from the existing water stocks in the seven lakes, the BMC continues to have access to reserve water stock allocated annually by the state irrigation govt. This buffer includes 1.4 lakh million litres from Bhatsa and 93,500 million litres from Upper Vaitarna, which can be drawn upon if required after a nod from the state. "With temperatures soaring in the first half of March, there are concerns over faster evaporation, but water cuts for now aren't being considered," said Bangar. This March, in the first 13 days of the month itself, the city has witnessed four days of heatwave conditions on March 5, 9, 10, 13 across the MMR. A heatwave is declared when temperatures touch 37°C or more for two consecutive days.Water levels this year are also higher compared to the past two years. During the same period last year, lake stocks stood at 5.84 lakh million litres (40.40%), while in 2024, they were at 5.07 lakh million litres. In previous years, the BMC has imposed water cuts ranging from 5% to 10% during the summer months due to inadequate rainfall and falling lake levels. In 2024, for instance, a 10% water cut was enforced from June 5 to July 29, after water stocks dipped sharply. Mumbai's daily water requirement is pegged at 4,200 million litres per day (MLD). Currently, the BMC is supplying around 4,000 MLD. It is already working on augmentation of its water sources, with plans afoot for construction of a new dam, namely Gargai, setting up two desalination plants, and also setting up/upgrading its seven Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs), which will be able to treat over 2,000 MLD of water.Officials said the situation will continue to be closely monitored, particularly as the city approaches the pre-monsoon period, when water levels tend to drop further. Mumbai draws its daily water from seven different lakes — Tansa, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tulsi, Vihar, Upper Vaitarna, and Middle Vaitarna.