Water woes ease for Pune as dams report levels higher than last year after heavy rain

Pune’s water woes have eased considerably as heavy rain in the dams’ catchment areas helped increase their water levels. Of the four dams that supply water to Pune, three have reported higher water levels than last year, while one dam continues to report lower water levels. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted good rainfall which will help improve the water levels further.

Out of the four dams – Khadakwasla, Temghar, Panshet, and Varasgaon – only Varasgaon has a lower water level than last year. As of July 22, Varasgaon had 48.47 per cent of its capacity last year, while this year it has 43.71 per cent water. Khadakwasla’s current water level is 74.71 per cent, compared to 62.17 per cent last year. Panshet’s present water level is 57.58 per cent, up from 51.30 per cent last year, and Temghar is at 38.30 per cent, also an improvement from 32.30 per cent last year.

Incessant rain over the last few weeks has helped improve the water levels in the dams. The Pavana dam, which is the sole water source for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, currently has a water level of 39.95 per cent, down from 45.57 per cent last year. In Pune district, rainfall has exceeded expectations, with 309.7 mm reported so far against an expected 286.4 mm until July 21. This has led to an improvement in water levels across all dams in the district.

However, Ujjani, the dam at the tail end of the Bhima River basin system, is still at dead stock because the discharge of water from the Khadakwasla and other systems has not yet started.