The lakes saw an increase of almost 48,849 million litres of water in just one day of good rainfall. Till a day before (September 18), the total quantum of water was 9.94 lakh million litres.
The catchment area lakes on Friday witnessed heavy downpour, claimed civic officials. Between September 18 and 19, the rainfall recorded in Modak Sagar lake was 78mm, Tansa 82.60mm, Upper Vaitarna 145.40mm, Bhatsa 97mm, Middle Vaitarna 139.20mm.
However, the two lakes in the city limits, namely Tulsi and Vihar, recorded comparatively lesser rainfal of 13mm and 10mm respectively.
The BMC hydraulic department officials opened the gates of Middle Vaitarna lake after it neared full capacity. As on Saturday, the level of Middle Vaitarna lake was 284.25metres while its full supply level is 285metres. The water from Middle Vaitarna was then released into Modak Sagar Lake.
A senior civic official said while there was good rainfall in the catchment area lakes on Friday, it had reduced by Saturday. “On Friday, we opened the gates of Middle Vaitarna after it reached full capacity and let excess water flow into Modak Sagar. The quantity of water on the morning of September 19 in the Vaitarna system, which supplies water to Mumbai city and the western suburbs, will be sufficient for 242 days, while the Bhatsa, which supplies water to the eastern suburbs, will have sufficient water for 200 days,” said the official. On an average, Mumbai now has around 221 days of water left.
Mumbai is reeling under 20% water cut for domestic users and 50% for bulk consumers. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis last week directed BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta to withdraw the water cuts on two significant days of the Ganpati festival – September 17 and 27. Keeping in mind the festivities, the pandals also have been informed by the civic body to display messages of water conservation through banners and posters.