Soaring mercury leads to low water level in Bhopal's Upper Lake

With mercury soaring, the water level in Upper Lake, the lifeline of Bhopal has gone down by over four feet compared to last year.

Updated on: Apr 28, 2015, 17:52:46 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

With mercury soaring, the water level in Upper Lake, the lifeline of Bhopal has gone down by over four feet compared to last year.

This-decrease-in-Upper-Lake-s-water-level-is-primarily-owing-to-increased-rate-of-evaporation-HT-photo

On Monday the water level in the lake was 1657.8 feet above sea level, while last year the level on the same day was 1662.05 feet.

This decrease is primarily owing to increased rate of evaporation and daily withdrawal of water from the lake, said officials.

Upper Lake supplies water to around 40% of the residents in Bhopal.

Every day around 25 million gallons (MGD) of water is drawn from Upper Lake.

However, officials claimed that this downslide in the water level will not affect the water supply for some time.

Talking about the level in upper lake, BMC assistant engineer (water) Rakesh Nigam said heat wave over last fewweeks has increased rate of evaporation.

He said the water level in the Upper lake had plummeted to 1657.80 feet.

“On an average, on hot summer days, the water evaporates from the Upper lake at the rate of nearly 0.025 inches per day,” he said.

The maximum water level after the deficient monsoon last year was around 1,663.7 feet and it had not reached its full tank level of 1666.8 feet, unlike 2013 when the lake has reached its full tank level.

The water bodies in Bhopal that supply drinking water are mainly rain fed.

The average annual rainfall in Bhopal is around 1,090 mm.

Bhopal has three main water sources Narmada, Upper Lake and Kolar reservoir.

Apart from securing 30-34 million gallons per day (MGD) from Kolar Dam, 18-25 MGD from Upper Lake and 3-5 MGD from ground water sources, water is also supplied from Narmada project.

Fact file

Year Water level (in ft)
April 27, 2015 1657.80

April 27, 2014 1662.05

May 1, 2013 1661.3

May 1, 2012 1659.55

May 1, 2011 1652.7

Dec 22, 2010 1656

Monsoon end, 2008 1655.00

Monsoon end, 2009 1662.80

Summer end, 2009 1644.40 (lowest in recorded history)

Full Tank Level 1666.80 feet

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

Home/Cities/Bhopal News/Soaring Mercury Leads To Low Water Level In Bhopal's Upper Lake