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Mumbai Water Crisis Looms As Delayed Monsoon Leaves Lake Levels Below 9% Capacity

· Free Press Journal

Mumbai: Mumbai’s key lakes supplying drinking water to the city have reached a concerning level in water stock due to delayed monsoon activity, according to the Hydraulic Engineer’s Department report released on June 21, 2026. The report, recorded at 6 am on Sunday, shows that the combined water stock in the seven lakes stood at 1,44,736 million litres, which is merely 8.68 per cent of the total required capacity.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) depends on lakes including Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Middle Vaitarna, Bhatsa, Vihar and Tulsi to supply potable water to Mumbai. However, weak and delayed monsoon showers over the catchment areas have slowed down water accumulation significantly compared to last year.

Among the major lakes, Bhatsa, the city’s largest water supplier, currently holds 57,288 million litres of useful content, accounting for 7.99 per cent of its storage capacity. Middle Vaitarna has 20,000 million litres, while Modak Sagar stands at 30,681 million litres. Upper Vaitarna’s useful content has dropped to zero as its water level has fallen below the lower drawable level (LDL), the report stated.

The report also highlighted that there was no rainfall recorded in most lake catchment areas in the last 24 hours. Modak Sagar and Middle Vaitarna received negligible rainfall, while Bhatsa, Vihar and Tulsi also saw no fresh rain activity. The total rainfall recorded at the Bhandup Complex, which houses the master control centre, was only 1 mm.

The current stock is substantially lower than the corresponding period last year, when the lakes collectively held over 3.74 lakh million litres of water, accounting for nearly 26 per cent of total capacity. In comparison, the current year’s reserves remain critically low due to the late arrival and weak progress of the southwest monsoon in Maharashtra.

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The delayed monsoon has raised concerns over Mumbai’s water security in the coming weeks if rainfall does not intensify soon across the lake catchment regions. Civic officials are closely monitoring the situation, as seversl water cuts have already been announced.

The BMC had already started releasing water from Middle Vaitarna Lake in November 2025, while Upper Vaitarna releases were stopped on June 20 this year after the lake level dropped below the drawable limit. Authorities are now hoping for sustained rainfall over the next few days to improve the city’s water reserves and avoid future supply concerns.

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