While the levels rose to 35 per cent on Monday, last year, on the same day, the lake levels stood at 31.16 per cent of the total capacity.
While in 2022, the water stock touched nearly 75 per cent.
AdvertisementHowever, even with the lake levels replenishing, civic officials have maintained that the 10 per cent water supply cut, which the city is currently experiencing, will stay.
Orange alert in Mumbai; Red alert in RaigadAmid an orange alert, heavy rain lashed Mumbai throughout Monday after subdued rains on Sunday.
While only 5 mm rain was recorded in the suburbs until Monday morning, the IMD’s Santacruz station recorded nearly 50 mm rain between 8.30 am and 2.30 pm while the Colaba station received 21 mm rainfall.
After reeling under a four-year low over the past month, the stock in the seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai on Monday morning reached 35.11 per cent – 5.08 lakh million litres — finally surpassing last year’s levels.
The lake levels have witnessed a spike of nearly 6 percentage points since Sunday, when the stock remained at 29.72 per cent, making it the highest one-day jump recorded in the season so far.
While the levels rose to 35 per cent on Monday, last year, on the same day, the lake levels stood at 31.16 per cent of the total capacity.
While in 2022, the water stock touched nearly 75 per cent.
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However, even with the lake levels replenishing, civic officials have maintained that the 10 per cent water supply cut, which the city is currently experiencing, will stay.
Speaking to The Indian Express, an official from the civic hydraulic department said, “While the lake levels touched 35 per cent today (Monday), in 2022, the water stock was over 70 per cent during the same time. Like last year, there is a water crisis and, therefore, the water cut will remain in place for now. We are monitoring the lakes and once the stock rises to a satisfactory level, we will take a call over the cut by the end of this month.”
The increasing water level in the lakes came in the wake of heavy showers battering Mumbai for the past week with the city surpassing its monthly average quota for July rain within two weeks on Sunday morning.
While the metropolis receives an average of 855.7 mm of rain in the month of July, Mumbai has recorded 866 mm of rain so far.
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The slow and steady rise in the lake levels has brought relief for the city where the water stock in the seven lakes plummeted to 5 per cent early in June.
Owing to the rain deficit in June, the stock continued to languish at 5 per cent throughout the month.
In a bid to maintain the minimum stock in the dams, the civic body, since early June, had been supplying water to the metropolis by drawing from the state reserve stock of Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa lakes until July 1.
“From July 1, we stopped using the reserve state stock and are currently drawing water from our lakes which are witnessing a surge from the ongoing rainfall,” added the BMC official.
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Meanwhile, the city is in for a wet week ahead which is slated to result in further swelling of the lakes – Tulsi, Vihar, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna – over the next few days.
Orange alert in Mumbai; Red alert in Raigad
Amid an orange alert, heavy rain lashed Mumbai throughout Monday after subdued rains on Sunday. While only 5 mm rain was recorded in the suburbs until Monday morning, the IMD’s Santacruz station recorded nearly 50 mm rain between 8.30 am and 2.30 pm while the Colaba station received 21 mm rainfall.
For Tuesday too, the IMD has placed Mumbai and Thane districts under an orange alert, stating the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated pockets.
Meanwhile, the weather bureau issued a red alert for Raigad from Monday afternoon until Wednesday morning, adding that heavy to very heavy rain alongside extremely heavy rainfall is on the cards for the district over the next two days.
