BMC to rely on reserve stock from Bhatsa soon

Bhatsa lake alone has the capacity to provide 7,17,000 million litres of water to Mumbai. File pic

Bhatsa lake, from which Mumbai gets half of its daily water supply, has only 2.8 per cent water stock, or 20,000 million litres, and this may last up to five days. After this, the BMC will rely on reserved stock from the lake to ensure an uninterrupted supply of water to the city. Though the water level is very low at 13 per cent, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) hasn't been keen on water cuts as imposing a 10 per cent daily water cut for a month saves water for only three days.

The city has seven lakes with a total storage capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres of water. Bhatsa lake alone has the capacity to provide 7.17 lakh million litres of water to Mumbai.

"The BMC has taken permission from the state government to use the reserve stock of 75,000 million litres from Bhatsa lake. Currently, the BMC is using reserve stock from the Upper Vaitarna dam," said an official from the BMC.

The BMC has only seven per cent water stock in seven lakes. It has taken permission from the state government to use 75,000 million litres of water reserved stock each from Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna's reserved stock. There are 31,800 million litres of reserve stock water in the Upper Vaitarna. An official added, "We will wait for another 10 days to take a decision on imposing a water cut, which will be based on rainfall and past years' experiences. A 30-day 10 per cent cut in the daily supply can save water for merely three days and it is not a feasible solution so we have asked permission to fetch water from reserved stocks."

Heavy spells a week away?

The impact of Cyclone Biparjoy has ended and southwesterly monsoon winds may bring rain clouds to the city in the coming three to four days. As per the latest forecast by the India Meteorology Department, there won't be any heavy rain in the city for the next five days at least. The southern districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg will receive heavy rainfall from June 24. The city may get heavy rainfall next week.

June 24
Day when southern districts may see heavy rain