Brace yourself for year-long water cuts

It is almost certain. Drinking water supplied to the city will have to be rationed post-monsoon. As the monsoon again weakened in the catchment belts in the last week, lake levels are starting to dip again.

On Sunday, water level at the Tulsi reservoirs, which had overflowed on September 7, dropped below the overflow mark. At 3 pm, its level was recorded at 139.162 m, which is 8 mm below its overflow level of 139.17 m.

With the monsoon already in its final leg, the six reservoirs supplying water to the city do not have sufficient water. “We are still short of at least 3 lakh litres of water,” a senior official said.

The non-filling of the lakes will mean that citizens will have to brace water cuts and ration water. “We will have to ration water zone wise. We do not import water. There is no other choice,” another civic official said.

The water crisis has also forced the municipal corporation to consider options like recycling of sewage water (grey water recycling) and sea water desalination.

During a press conference last Friday, municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak had said there may be steep water cuts next year. The hydraulic department, meanwhile, is continuing with its weather modification exercises.