Water Level In Mumbai Lakes Rises To Nearly 68%; IMD Predicts More Rainfall Till July 10

The seven major lakes supplying water to Mumbai are witnessing a continuous surge in their storage levels amid heavy rainfall in the region in the last few days. The water storage across the seven major lakes stood at 67.88% of the total capacity, as per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data at 6 a.m. on Monday. 

Of the total capacity of 14,47,363 million litres of usable water, the seven lakes hold 9,82,413 million litres of water at present. These seven main lakes supplying water to Mumbai are Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Vehar, and Tulsi. These are located across Mumbai, Thane, and Nashik districts and rely heavily on rainfall to refill.

According to the BMC data, Middle Vaitarna is at the highest capacity at 87.22%, holding 1,68,801 million litres of water. It is closely followed by Modak Sagar lake at 87.03% capacity. Except for Tulsi (45%) and Vehar (47%), all other lakes are also above their 50% capacity.

This year’s early monsoon has contributed to the surge in water levels of these lakes, which stood at a combined capacity of 14.52% during this period a year ago, the BMC data showed. Amid rainfall, all seven lakes witnessed a significant surge in water levels in the past 24 hours, with the highest in Middle Vaitarna lake at five metres. The least surge was clocked in at Tulsi lake at 0.06 metres.

The data showed that significant rainfall had lashed all seven lakes in the past 24 hours. The highest rainfall was recorded in Tansa lake at 158 mm. Meanwhile, the lowest was logged in Vehar at 40 mm.

With more rainfall predicted ahead, the water levels are expected to surge further in the coming days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Mumbai till July 10, anticipating moderate to heavy rainfall. According to the weather agency, a few isolated places in the city are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on July 8 and July 9.