Used to bathing twice a day? Well, it’s time to stop, says municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak.

With the monsoon almost coming to an end, there has been little change in the levels of the reservoirs supplying water to the city. According to Phatak, there is a shortage of 3.5 lakh million litres of water currently.

“Mumbaikars have to find a way to tackle the shortage,” Phatak said. “We appeal to them to be more careful. People should try to reduce their usage for non-potable purposes. Avoid bathing twice a day.”

Currently, there is about 9.49 lakh million litres of water in the lakes. Last year at about the same time, the amount in the lakes was estimated to be 13.16 lakh million litres. The difference, thus, is 3.5 lakh million litres of water.

But the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is still hopeful that the rains may extend till October 10. “According to the meteorological department, it may rain up to the second week of October,” Phatak said. “Also, the BMC will continue with the cloud-seeding process.”

Anil Diggikar, additional municipal commissioner, said, “Every year the city’s water requirement rises by 80-100 million litres. There is a need for a new project every few years to meet this growing need.”