Hyderabad could face a water deficit of up to 100 million gallons per day between January and August as falling levels in the Singur and Manjeera reservoirs reduce supplies to the city, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has projected.
HMWSSB Managing Director K Ashok Reddy said the shortfall from the two crucial sources could affect drinking water supply during the upcoming summer. He attributed the decline to reduced rainfall linked to El Niño and falling storage levels in the Singur and Manjeera reservoirs.
The water board is currently supplying Hyderabad with around 560 to 570 million gallons per day. However, declining groundwater levels have increased demand for water tankers, adding pressure to the formal supply network and raising the risk of unequal access in areas dependent on alternative sources.
Speaking at the launch of the Paani App on Thursday, Reddy said HMWSSB had planned to draw an additional 60 MGD from the Godavari, Krishna and Osman Sagar sources to offset part of the projected decline. Even after these measures, a deficit of between 40 and 50 MGD could remain.
The residual shortage is expected to affect nearly three lakh water connections across a wide western and southern stretch of the metropolitan region, from Patancheru to Narsingi. The report did not specify how the remaining deficit would be distributed between residential, commercial and other users, or identify a detailed area-wise supply schedule.
The projected shortfall highlights the dependence of Hyderabad’s expanding urban area on a limited group of surface-water reservoirs, while falling groundwater levels are simultaneously increasing demand for tanker supplies. In practical terms, the gap between available bulk water and daily demand could place additional pressure on neighbourhood-level distribution, particularly in areas already reliant on tankers or irregular supply.
The water board has submitted an emergency action plan to the State Government, according to Reddy. The supplied report does not provide details of the plan’s funding, operating arrangements, tanker deployment or contingency measures for the affected connections.
The Paani App, launched by Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, is intended to allow citizens to alert HMWSSB officials about water misuse. The initiative also invites residents to register as water volunteers through the Water Board’s official website. The app and volunteer network are separate from the projected source shortfall but form part of the administration’s stated response to managing water demand.
The next operational milestones will be the implementation of the emergency action plan and the proposed mobilisation of additional supplies from the Godavari, Krishna and Osman Sagar sources. The extent of the final deficit will depend on reservoir levels, supply augmentation and demand during the January-August period.
