Mumbai Lake Water Stock Rises to 94.29 Per Cent of Total Capacity

Mumbai's water stock in the seven supplying reservoirs rose to 94.29 per cent on Thursday morning, increasing from the 94.15 per cent recorded a day earlier, according to the latest data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Hydraulic Engineer's Department.

As of 6 am on August 20, the seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai collectively held 13,64,737 million litres (ML) against their total useful storage capacity of 14,47,363 ML. The updated figures show that the city's reservoirs are now holding nearly their full useful capacity, providing a strong water security cushion for the coming months.

Three of the seven reservoirs have reached full capacity. Modak Sagar, Vehar, and Tulsi were all recorded at 100 per cent of their useful storage content. Among the other major lakes, Tansa recorded 98.69 per cent storage, while Middle Vaitarna reached 94.22 per cent.

Bhatsa, which serves as the largest contributor to Mumbai's water supply, reached 94.38 per cent of its useful storage capacity. Upper Vaitarna stood at 87.13 per cent of its useful content. Overall lake storage has improved substantially following the monsoon season, with several reservoirs reaching or nearing their maximum limits.

The lake catchment areas also recorded light rainfall during the 24-hour window ending at 6 am on Thursday. Upper Vaitarna received 13 mm of rainfall, Vehar recorded 7 mm, and both Bhatsa and Middle Vaitarna logged 4 mm each. Modak Sagar and Tulsi recorded 3 mm of rain each, while Tansa received no rainfall during the 24-hour period.

The BMC report also detailed the timeline of lake overflows and discharge operations earlier in the season. Vehar and Tulsi began overflowing earlier in July. Tansa began overflowing on July 22, followed by Modak Sagar on July 23. Upper Vaitarna released water starting July 6, while Middle Vaitarna's water discharge gates were closed on July 6.