Hyderabad is preparing for drinking-water stress from December after the Singur and Manjeera reservoirs were left with storage estimated to last only about 55 days, prompting the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) to prepare a contingency plan covering nearly three lakh water connections.
HMWSSB managing director K. Ashok Reddy said the board would add 60 million gallons per day (MGD) to supplies in the affected areas. The plan includes 40 MGD from the Godavari system, 15 MGD through additional pumping and rationalisation of Krishna supplies, and 5 MGD through adjustments to the existing distribution network.
The areas covered by the plan fall wholly or partly within nine Assembly constituencies: Serilingampally, Patancheru, Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills, Sanathnagar, Kukatpally, Karwan, Rajendranagar and Qutbullapur. Localities listed under the contingency arrangements include Erramanzil, Somajiguda, Banjara Hills, Yousufguda, Borabanda, Ameerpet, Sanathnagar, KPHB, Moosapet, Bharat Nagar, Shaikpet, Tolichowki, Kismatpur, Nizampet and Pragathi Nagar.
The HMWSSB currently has about 560 MGD available from its existing water sources. Ashok Reddy said Osman Sagar, Himayat Sagar, the Godavari source at Yellampally and the Krishna source at Nagarjuna Sagar had reserves estimated to last 300 days or more. However, he said Singur and Manjeera had become less dependable because they receive significant flood inflows only once every three to four years. The two reservoirs received almost no substantial inflows this year, while groundwater recharge had also declined compared with the previous year, according to the official.
Under the contingency plan, HMWSSB intends to withdraw the existing 20 MGD supplied to Mission Bhagiratha and make an additional 20 MGD available through the scheme by November 15. The board also plans to pump an additional 15 MGD of Krishna water from Mir Alam towards the Sainikpuri Balancing Reservoir through Shahebnagar MBR. Another 5 MGD would be diverted to Manikonda by rationalising supplies from Krishna Phase-II Ring Main-I.
The pressure on the city’s water network is also reflected in tanker demand. HMWSSB recorded 1,92,889 tanker bookings in October 2026, compared with 48,284 in October 2025. Tanker deliveries rose from around 87,000 in October last year to 2.27 lakh in October this year, according to the figures cited in the report.
For the longer term, the board is relying on Godavari Phase II and III projects, which are expected to add around 300 MGD to Hyderabad’s drinking-water supply by December 2027. Ashok Reddy said the additional water would increase the city’s existing availability by nearly 60 per cent and strengthen water security. HMWSSB expects Hyderabad to have adequate drinking-water supplies by summer 2028.
