As the water stock in seven lakes continues to plummet, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has dipped into the reserve water stock. On Sunday, the stock in the seven lakes that supply water to the city sank to 7.59 per cent (1.09 lakh million litres) of the total live storage. This stands in stark contrast to 2023, when the water levels stood at 12.28 per cent on the same day. In 2022, the stock remained at 17.03 per cent, which is two times higher than the current levels. “We have started to draw water from the Upper Vaitarna as per requirements. We have planned to use the reserve stock until the arrival of monsoon or till July 30. Whenever enough water gets accumulated in the lakes, we will stop drawing the water from the reserves and we will also try to surrender the water back to the state,” said an official from the civic hydraulic department. The civic body got the go-ahead from the Maharashtra irrigation department in early March, according to officials. In a cautionary move last week, the civic body slashed water supply by 5 per cent, which will be increased to 10 per cent from June 5. Earlier this year, when the lake water levels started depleting at an alarming rate and weather experts rang alarm bells over a hotter summer, the civic body requested extra 93,500 million litres of water from Upper Vaitarna and extra 1.37 lakh million water from the Bhatsa lake. The state government acceded to the request by approving nearly 15.76 per cent of its stock. However, officials said the civic body has not dipped into the reserve stock from the Bhatsa lake. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has indicated that the southwest monsoon is likely to make a timely onset in Mumbai this year. “Currently, we are looking at the timely onset of monsoon in Mumbai, which can arrive between June 10 and 11, with a plus or minus of four-five days. This means that the monsoon can arrive anywhere between June 6 and June 14,” a scientist from the IMD’s Mumbai centre said, seeking to allay fears amid the fast-drying lakes.
