Water stock in lakes supplying Mumbai rises to 12 per cent

After the late onset of monsoon, the heavy downpour of the last few days has led to a considerable increase in water stock in seven reservoirs which supply water to Mumbai, an official said Thursday. As of Thursday morning, the total water stock in the lakes had risen to 12 percent, said Ashok Tewadiya, chief engineer of the Hydraulic Engineering Department.

The water stock stood at 5 percent on June 27. "Heavy downpour in the last couple of days in Mumbai as well as in catchment areas has resulted in decent water storage in the lakes. It was 11 percent till Wednesday morning and rose up to 12 percent today," he told PTI.

Delayed rains had forced the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to draw on the reserve stock in the lakes from June 27. Mumbai's water supply comes from seven reservoirs: Modak Sagar, Tansa, Vihar, Tulsi, Upper Vaitarna, Bhatsa, and Middle Vaitarna.

The BMC supplies 3,750 million liters of water every day to the residents of Mumbai which still falls short of the actual demand of 4,200 million liters. Another civic official said that another good spell of rain is expected in coming days, though people should use water sparingly.

"Even when we had only five percent water left and were supplying the water from reserve stock, we had enough water to last till July end. Now our total water stock has gone up to 12 percent which indicates we have enough water for another few months and we are hoping some really good spells of rainfall, at least in catchment areas," the official said. "Using water judiciously is always welcomed...Even today we are appealing people to use water sparingly," he said.

The civic body has imposed a 10 percent water cut for residential and 15 percent cut for commercial and industrial premises since November last year after it found that the water stock may not suffice till July.

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