After 36-hour disruption, water supply restored to most of Nashik

Nashik: Water supply to most of Nashik city was largely restored on Thursday after a 36-hour disruption triggered by a power failure at the Gangapur dam pumping station on Tuesday.

The outage, which began on Tuesday evening, affected Nashik West, Satpur, Panchavati, and Nashik Road divisions, along with parts of Cidco and Nashik East, forcing residents to rely on limited tanker supply and stored water. While supply resumed by Thursday, several localities continued to receive water at low pressure. Officials said full normalisation is expected by Friday.

Civic officials attributed the disruption to a major power failure that crippled raw-water lifting operations. “The disruption occurred after Nashik Municipal Corporation failed to lift raw water from the jackwell due to a fault in the 33kV feeder line supplying power to the pumping station,” officials said, adding that repeated interruptions slowed restoration efforts.

The situation worsened as both power feeders to the crucial pumping station failed simultaneously due to weather-related damage. “While the high-tension conductor on the Mahindra feeder snapped and fell, the Satpur feeder was also rendered non-operational after a tree collapsed on the line during heavy rain on Tuesday,” officials explained.

The jackwell pumping station, a critical component of the city’s water supply system, remained completely shut during the outage, severely affecting operations at six water treatment plants and disrupting potable water distribution across the city.

It took nearly one-and-a-half days to repair the power infrastructure, after which electricity was restored and pumping operations resumed on Thursday morning.

Residents across affected areas reported inconvenience during the outage, struggling to secure drinking water and manage daily needs. To mitigate the crisis, the Nashik Municipal Corporation deployed around 25 water tankers.

Officials said the city’s heavy dependence on the Gangapur dam amplified the impact. The dam supplies nearly 80% of the city’s water, while Mukane and Darna dams cater to the remaining demand. Areas linked to Mukane reported a relatively stable supply during the disruption.