Navi Mumbai to face weekly water cuts in evening

Water storage in Morbe Dam has come down to 74.3 MCM which is 38.9% of the total capacity. Officials keeping a daily track of the storage in Morbe term the available storage to be quite less compared to water storage in April 2022

NAVI MUMBAI: With existing stock in Morbe Dam can only supply water for 99 days across the city, and the possibility of a delayed or deficient monsoon, the water department of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Friday introduced a once-a-week water cut across its seven nodes.

With the NMMC implementing weekly water cuts, there might be some changes in the supply pattern of the society as well so we will have to adjust accordingly (StockPic)

The civic administration has worked out a weekly schedule for when the water supply will be affected on a rotational basis. As part of the plan, no water will be supplied during the evening hours.

“Since the beginning of April, we have been contemplating moderate water cuts so that the city doesn’t face an acute shortage of water in case of a delayed monsoon. Last week, a proposal was presented before the commissioner to implement weekly rotational water cuts once a week so that residents voluntarily understand the gravity of the situation and take up conservation of water seriously,” said the additional city engineer (water) Manoj Patil.

Water storage in Morbe Dam has come down to 74.3 MCM which is 38.9% of the total capacity. Officials keeping a daily track of the storage in Morbe term the available storage to be quite less compared to water storage in April 2022.

“The storage in the dam last year during this month was approximately 45%. So, there is indeed a considerable difference. The primary reason for this difference is that during last year’s monsoon, the dam didn’t overflow and neither did the city receive rainfall that usually occurs during the month of September-October.

These aspects have led to the predictions of the El-Nino phenomenon, which simply means warmer temperatures and less rainfall,” said an official from the department.

The administration has said it will take regular review meetings to ascertain whether to increase the number of days of water shutdown.

As per the weekly schedule circulated amongst residential societies – Mondays there will be no water supply in the evening in Belapur, Tuesdays in Koparkhairne, Wednesdays in Ghansoli, Thursdays in Vashi, Fridays in Airoli, Saturdays in Nerul and Sundays in Turbhe.

“Water supply provided by NMMC to other areas like the MIDC, CIDCO etc too will be affected as per their respective shutdown schedule,” added Patil.

In response to the restrictions announced by the civic body, the housing societies in Navi Mumbai have begun asking its residents to take adequate precautions while using water. Welfare associations have begun circulating measures to be implemented to avoid wastage.

“The system within our society is to supply water three times a day to each of the 300 flats equipped with 300-litre water tanks. So, we are anyways habituated to using water sparingly as wastage would mean we will have to wait until the next round of water supply done by the society. With the NMMC implementing weekly water cuts, there might be some changes in the supply pattern of the society as well so we will have to adjust accordingly,” said a resident from Seawoods Kendriya Vihar.

Water cut schedule

Mondays – Belapur

Tuesdays – Koparkhairne

Wednesdays – Ghansoli

Thursdays – Vashi

Fridays – Airoli

Saturdays - Nerul

Sundays - Turbhe