Mumbai’s seven lifeline reservoirs barely cross 11 per cent capacity as monsoon plays truant; officials worry about water supply to city if showers don’t pick up soon
The Tulsi lake, which has 2443 million litres of useful water as of June 6. File pic
The catchment areas of the seven lakes that supply drinking water to Mumbai received just 18 mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours, bringing the total water stock to 11.39 per cent or 1,64,832 million litres as of the morning of Friday, June 6.
Mumbai receives its daily water supply from Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Middle Vaitarna, Bhatsa, Vihar, and Tulsi lakes. Combined, these reservoirs have a total capacity of 1,447,363 million litres (ML).
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) supplies approximately 3950 ML of water to the city each day. On Thursday morning, the lakes held 11.77 per cent or 1,70,374 million litres. However, after supplying water for a full day, levels dipped. Officials clarified that about 34 per cent of water is lost during transit, and additional quantities are lost to evaporation from the lake surfaces. On June 6, 2024, the lakes held only 6.54 per cent or 94,656 ML. In 2023, they had 11.42 per cent or 1,65,236 ML.
Since the onset of the southwest monsoon on May 25, 2025, the catchment areas have received 241 mm of cumulative rainfall. According to BMC officials, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Vaitarna lakes, along with Tansa, supply water to the western suburbs — from Dahisar Check Naka to Bandra — and parts of South Mumbai, from Mahim to Malabar Hill, Bhatsa, Vihar, and Tulsi make up the Bhatsa system, which feeds water to the eastern suburbs and city areas between Mulund Check Naka and Sion, and from Sion to Mazagaon.
3950 million litres
The quantity of water the BMC supplies to the city each day
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