Vihar Lake to provide 200 million litres more water by 2027

Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation plans to divert excess water from Vihar Lake to curb flooding and increase water supply by 200 million litres by 2027. The project will cost around ₹58 crore, with ₹30 crore allocated in this year's budget. A pumping station will be installed at the lake's shore to transfer the water to the Bhandup water treatment plant. The initiative aims to ease flooding in flood-prone areas and mitigate the impact of heavy rainfall on the Mithi River.

Mumbai: In an effort to protect flood-prone areas like Kranti Nagar in Kurla, parts of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), and Saki Naka in Andheri East, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has come up with a smart plan to not just curb flooding but to divert excess water from Vihar Lake. Through this process, the city will get 200 million litres of more water supply by 2027 which will be diverted to the Bhandup water treatment plant. An official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s water supply projects said a pumping station will be installed at the shore of the lake for the project, the location of which is yet to be decided.

The place where Mithee river originates from at Vihar Lake. HT Photo by Puneet Chandhok Mumbai, 24/07/10

The main aim of this initiative is to ease the flood-prone Kranti Nagar in Kurla, parts of BKC, and Saki Naka in Andheri East, every time excess water from the Vihar Lake flows into Mithi River during monsoon and crosses the danger mark.

The estimated cost of the project is around ₹58 crore, but a provision of ₹30 crore is made in this year’s civic budget. The civic official said, “We have floated the tender, and the work order will be issued before the code of conduct kicks in. A thirty-month period is the deadline for completion of this project.”

Vihar Lake, one of the smaller lakes out of seven lakes in the city, provides around 2% of Mumbai’s water supply. Every year, heavy rainfall results in a rise in water levels along the 18.38 km Mithi river, which sends a red alert to mainly ground floor residents of Kranti Nagar in Kurla, parts of BKC and Andheri East along with flooding on railway tracks in Kurla and Sion. Thus, to mitigate flooding woes and increase Mumbai’s water supply, a consultant was appointed in 2020 to study the feasibility of the project.

Adding, “The pumping station will be more effective when the city records 150 to 200 mm rain a day. This project is also a flood mitigation measure for Mithi river that will provide relief to residents during monsoon.”