Malabar Hill Reservoir: Phase-wise repair of tank not possible, says expert panel report

Following this, an expert committee comprising IIT professors, BMC engineers, architects as well as citizens with expertise on technical subjects was inducted by the civic body. The committee was appointed in November last year and the report was published on February 29.

There were total eight members inducted in the committee, which included IIT Professors, Alok Goyal, RS Jangid, Jothi Prakash and Dasaka Murthy, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC) special engineering, CH Kandalkar and three independent members including architect Rahul Kadri, structural and civil engineers, Alpa Sheth and Vasudeo Nori. The report stated that the independent members (Kadri, Sheth and Nori) didn’t consent to signing of this report.

In its report, the experts have given a slew of measures pertaining to maintenance of the existing tank in its present condition as well as suggested measures to carry out the repair works. “The visual inspection of the tanks of the MHR indicated structural damage including corrosion and spalling of concrete cover, as well as non-structural damage including seepage and leakage at the roof level, leaching of lime mortar, implying that these damages shall be repaired at the earliest convenience. To carry out the above repairs in an effective manner, the tanks need to be in empty condition. Currently, MHR is being utilised to its maximum usable capacity, and repair of the tanks by making them empty will seriously disrupt the water supply,” the report stated.

“The phase-wise construction of this report will not be possible, since the repairs to the inside chambers of the MHR cannot be carried out without emptying them and constructing a new additional tank. This additional tank will take care of the deficit water supply that may arise during the repair of MHR, which would be closed during periodic maintenance,” the report further stated.

The experts in their report stated that at present the MHR has a deficit of usable storage by 13.27 million litres. As per the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) manuals, an alternative arrangement should be in place before emptying the service reservoirs, which ensures an uninterrupted water supply and the required usable capacity of the alternative tank should be 52.44 ML. Meanwhile, as short-term measures, the report has also suggested that the entire tank needs to be cleaned out as per CPHEEO guidelines and a hydraulic audit of the tank should also be carried out.

Built in 1887, the Malabar Hill Reservoir is one of the first artificial water reservoirs that was built to meet the regular water requirements of the island city. The reservoir is located underneath the surface of the Pheroze Shah Mehta (Hanging Gardens) situated at Malabar Hill and has a capacity of supplying 150 million litres per day (MLD). The Malabar Hill is one of the highest locations of Mumbai and the key idea of having this reservoir at such an elevated height is to augment the force of water through natural gravitational force.