01 July,2026 11:12 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Powai Lake. File Pic
Mumbai's Powai Lake, one of the key artificial lakes in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) area, began overflowing at around 5.30 am on Wednesday following heavy rainfall in the city.
The lake has a storage capacity of 545 crore litres and is used exclusively for industrial purposes. Its overflow marks a significant milestone in the monsoon season, reflecting the impact of sustained rainfall across Mumbai over the past several days.
Powai Lake is among the major water bodies maintained by the BMC. Although it is not part of the city's potable water supply system, it plays an important role in meeting industrial water requirements.
The overflow comes as Mumbai continues to receive heavy monsoon showers, leading to rising water levels in lakes and reservoirs across the metropolitan region.
Civic officials said the lake started overflowing at approximately 5.30 am after reaching its full storage capacity. Authorities continue to monitor water levels and rainfall as the monsoon remains active across the city.
Several parts of Mumbai received over 100 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Wednesday, resulting in waterlogging at the Andheri subway and a few other low-lying areas, officials said.
The inundation prompted the authorities to divert traffic, they said.
BEST buses operated normally, while suburban train services on the Central Railway and Western Railway were running with some delays, said officials.
Services on the Harbour line, which connects Navi Mumbai with parts of Mumbai, were disrupted after an overhead wire snapped between 4.52 am and 5.45 am, affecting the movement of local trains, they said.
The eastern suburbs received an average of 109 mm of rains, followed by the western suburbs with 87 mm and the island city with 86 mm between 8 am on Tuesday and 8 am on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
Citing data from automatic rain gauges installed across the city, it said that Mankhurd, an eastern suburb, recorded the highest rainfall at 170.4 mm during this period.
In the island city, Byculla recorded a rainfall of 162.52 mm, while the Mumbai Central area received 142.43 mm of rains, followed by Wadala at 127 mm.
In the western suburbs, the Bandra Kurla Complex area and Borivali received 132.4 mm and 126 mm of rains, respectively. The rain gauge at Dindoshi fire station recorded 123 mm, the BMC said.
Between 7 am and 8 am on Wednesday, the island city and eastern suburbs received light rain with a few heavy spells, while parts of the western suburbs witnessed heavier showers.
The highest rainfall during the hour was recorded in Andheri West (39 mm), which falls under the K/W ward. Andheri East received 34 mm of rainfall, while Bandra West recorded 24 mm, the civic body said.
