Is Mumbai’s water crisis worsening? Delayed monsoon will push lake water supplies below 7% | Today’s news
Mumbai once again faces a familiar summer concern: will the city have enough water despite the monsoon showers?
The country’s financial capital and its metropolitan region rely heavily on rainfall for its water supply. Mumbai gets its drinking water from seven reservoirs — Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Middle Vaitarna, Tulsi and Vihar.
Unlike several other metropolitan cities, Mumbai has no significant alternative source of drinking water and thus a healthy monsoon is essential to meet its drinking water needs.
Concerns about the city’s water supply have grown after the delayed arrival of the southwest monsoon. According to data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) hydraulic engineer department, the combined live stock in the seven reservoirs has fallen below 7 percent, significantly lower than the level recorded at the same time last year.
During the corresponding period in 2025, the seven reservoirs had 39.5 percent of their total live storage capacity.
The latest data showed a slight decline in water storage since Sunday when the reservoirs collectively held 1,02,460 million liters of water, equivalent to 7.08 percent of their total useful storage capacity after the recent rains.
Read also | Vadodra-Mumbai section of Delhi Expressway: When will it be operational?
In which reservoirs is the highest water level?
Among the seven reservoirs in Mumbai, Vihar and Tulsi have the highest storage levels. The Vihar currently holds 12,499 million liters of water, which is 45.13 percent of its useful live storage capacity. Tulsi has 1,952 million liters of water, increasing its reserves to 24.26 percent.
Bhatsa, one of Mumbai’s main sources of drinking water, contains 39,636 million liters of usable water, or 5.53 percent of its live storage capacity. The reservoir received 8 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, taking its cumulative seasonal rainfall to 96 mm.
Modak Sagar currently holds 23,819 million liters of water, or 18.47 percent of its useful capacity, while Middle Vaitarna holds 22,308 million liters, or 11.53 percent of its storage capacity.
Read also | Best cities to live in India: Bengaluru tops, Kolkata most affordable
Tansa continues to have the lowest water level with only 65 million liters of water, which is only 0.05 percent of its total capacity. The Upper Vaitarna remains below the Low Drawdown Level (LDL) and officials consider its useful storage to be nil.
According to the report, water release operations at Upper Vaitarna started at 11 am on June 22, while the gates of WSCPO Middle Vaitarna were opened at 11 am on June 23.
How much precipitation fell into the reservoirs?
Heavy rainfall was recorded in the basins. The Bhandup complex received 191 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, taking its seasonal total to 386 mm.
Tulsi recorded the highest rainfall of any reservoir in the last 24 hours, with 179 mm, followed by Vihar with 112 mm. Modak Sagar recorded 38 mm of rainfall while Bhatsa recorded 8 mm.
Why is Mumbai facing water problems?
Monsoon usually reaches Mumbai around June 10, but its arrival was delayed this year. In contrast, the city received the monsoon much earlier than usual last year when it arrived in May.
Read also | Priyanka Chaturvedi hits out at BMC as rains cause heavy waterlogging in Mumbai
The delayed onset and slow progress of rains raised concerns about water availability, prompting the BMC to closely monitor reservoir levels and take steps to conserve water.
The BMC, as directed by the Maharashtra government’s water resources department, has introduced water conservation measures to manage the city’s drinking water supply. Earlier this month, the Hydraulic Engineer Department issued a detailed circular outlining procedures to be followed during periods of water outages.
The civic body has imposed a 10 percent water restriction in Mumbai from May 15. He later tightened restrictions on industrial and commercial users by imposing a 20 percent water restriction from June 17.
