City has just 17% of stock; BMC says no decision on more cuts

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is confident that the city has enough water to last till the arrival of the monsoon, but data shows otherwise. At the beginning of May, the city has only 17.86% of its total water stock.

The city already has a 10% water cut in force and it appears the BMC may have to dip into its reserves in case of a delayed monsoon.

Mumbai requires at least 4,200 million litres of water daily but the BMC supplies just 3,800 million litres. As on April 30, the city’s water stock stood at 2.58 lakh million litres (ML), the lowest in three years. This is 17.86% of the total requirement.

On April 30, 2019, the total water stock stood at 2,58,489 ML. In 2018, on the same day, it stood at 4,42,640 ML (30.58% of the total requirement) and in 2017, at 4,48,763 ML (31.01% of the requirement).

The situation can be attributed to poor rainfall last year. There was heavy rainfall in July and August but since there was little rain in September, the total water stock till the end of monsoon was less than satisfactory. That is why, since November, the BMC has imposed a 10% water cut in the city and there were reports that it may go up by 5% after the elections. However, the BMC has refuted this.

‘Will achieve target’

“We will achieve our target. Every five years, there is a year when the monsoon is less than expected. The last such year was 2015. It is a natural cycle. There is no discussion of a further water cut. We appeal to people to not waste water,” said A.S. Tawadiya, chief hydraulic engineer.

According to Mr. Tawadiya, this stock (17%) is enough to last for 45 days. The Vaitarna system will last till June-end while the Bhatsa system will last till June 15. The State government has cleared the BMC’s request to allow it to use the reserve stock from Bhatsa dam. “Generally, we dip into Bhatsa’s reserves almost every year. We have taken permission to do so this year as well. But we may not need to, if the monsoon comes on time,” Mr. Tawadiya said. A large amount of water is also lost to leakages owing to pipeline corrosion and thefts.