Heavy rain, but water cuts won’t end in a hurry

The city has received almost its entire rainfall halfway into the monsoon, which officially ends on September 30, but this does not mean that water cuts will end.

The city has received almost its entire rainfall halfway into the monsoon, which officially ends on September 30, but this does not mean that water cuts will end.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said though Mumbai has witnessed good showers, the rainfall in its catchment areas is still below normal. “We will review the lake levels on August 15. The current levels are below the normal average,” said Vinay Deshpande, chief hydraulic engineer, BMC.

The civic body had cut water supply across the city by 15 per cent following a poor monsoon last year. Rainfall data recorded by the regional India Meteorological Department (IMD) office till date shows that Mumbai has received more than 2,000 mm of rainfall, making it the wettest monsoon in the past five years. The city receives an average rainfall of 2,300 mm between June and September.

However, the catchments areas have not received as much. Though Modak Sagar and Tulsi lakes crossed the overflow mark on Sunday, Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa, the two biggest water suppliers, are below the mark. Upper Vaitarna is 5 m below its overflow mark of 603 m, while Bhatsa is 15 m below its 142-metre mark.

The IMD expects the city to receive around 750 mm of rainfall in the next two months. “The implications of touching the average seasonal rainfall this early are good,” said R.V. Sharma, deputy director, IMD (western region).