BMC officials say current stock of water in lakes, which is at 18 per cent, will last till August, but are expecting heavy rains by early July; Mumbai had a 15 per cent water cut last year
A file picture of Tansa lake, one of the seven lakes which supplies water to the city.
If the monsoon is delayed further, Mumbai's water department may again have to face a crisis.
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Currently the seven lakes which provide water to Mumbai have 18% of their total storage capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres (ml) of water. The water department is expecting heavy showers in the lake areas by late June and early July, which will help increase the water stock. According to the civic officials, the current stock is enough to last the city till August.
Mumbai gets 3,750 ml water every day from the seven lakes against the requirement of 4,200 ml.
Also read: Good news! No water cuts this summer as Mumbai lakes have enough water
Last year around this time due to poor rainfall, the city was reeling under a 15% water cut. After the crisis the BMC had started an awareness campaign to minimise water wastage.
Delay means trouble
A senior civic official said, "We are in a safe position currently as last year the stock available was 0.97 lakh ml, but later on it rained heavily, so we could stock the needed quantity within one and half months of a good monsoon. But we are closely monitoring the situation, as another 15 to 20 days delay in arrival of monsoon will mean a problem for us."
Also read: Mumbaikars will have to wait a few more days for heavy rains
Ashok Tawadia, chief engineer of hydraulic engineering department, was unavailable for comment.
Heavy spells
Mumbaikars might have to face the wrath of the monsoon after a week, as heavy spells of rains are predicted from June 25-26 by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD had earlier declared the onset of monsoon officially on June 12.
"The monsoon activity has been quite normal, but there is no system to support it, that's why there have been light showers. The monsoon rains might intensify after 25 or 26 June, till then the weather is expected to be cloudy," said Nitha Sasidharan, IMD weather scientist.
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