Amid buzz about water cuts, dam levels give reason for hope

The data assume significance in the wake of several meetings held over water supply in Pune this summer.

For Pune, April has been fruitful with 46.7 mm of rainfall, a sharp spike from the average of 6 mm that the city usually receives in the month. Last year, for instance, Pune received 0 mm of rainfall in April. (File)

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Over the past month, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has raised several red flags over water supply this summer, even proposing a day’s cut every week. But amid the early alarms, there is some hope too, according to data maintained by the Maharashtra Water Resources Department.

The four dam systems of Khadakwasla, Panshet, Temghar and Warasgaon are the main suppliers of water to the city. And the latest data show the water level at Khadakwasla at 56.41 per cent of capacity on May 5 with 61.54 Mcum (million cubic metres) – up from 40.57 per cent on the same day last year. Similarly, the data show the water level at Warasgaon at 48.10 per cent of capacity with 186.41 Mcum, which is much higher than the 36.45 recorded on the same day last year.

However, Panshet with 27.65 per cent ( 38.61 last year) and Temghar with 6.69 per cent (11.94 per cent last year) reported lesser levels, according to May 5 data.

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The data assume significance in the wake of several meetings held over water supply in Pune this summer. Besides, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently asked the state administration to be ready with a contingency plan in case of a delayed or below-average monsoon.

Dam	Storage capacity (Mcum)	% storage May 5, 2022	% storage May 5,2023
Khadakwasla	85.91	40.57	56.41
Panshet	301.61	38.61	27.65
Warasgaon	375.36	35.65	48.10
Temghar	107.96	11.94	6.69

Yet, in anticipation of a long summer, the PMC has pressed the alarm bells, banning usage of potable water for construction projects.

Asked about the rise in water levels at two key dams, a PMC official said, “Until now, water management was being done till July-end every year. However, the state government has given instructions to extend this to August citing the possibility of prolonged monsoon and less rainfall.”

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The official said, “The water in the dams should last till August-end as against July-end. But the increasing heat is likely to affect storage in the coming months due to evaporation and consumption. The state water resource department will have to supply water for irrigation purposes, too.”

Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

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