Mumbai’s 10 per cent water cut will remain in place after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation warned that the seven lakes supplying the city may have enough stock only until May 17, 2027. The civic administration cited inadequate rainfall and the expected intensification of the El Niño weather pattern as reasons for retaining the restriction.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar gave the assessment during civic house proceedings on Tuesday. He was responding to a notice of motion by Kishori Pednekar, Leader of the Opposition in the House and a Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator, who had demanded that the water cut introduced in May be withdrawn.
“The water stock that we have now will only last till May 17, 2027,” Bangar said. He added that the El Niño phase was expected to intensify further in October and November, bringing higher daytime temperatures and faster evaporation from the lakes. “That is why it is necessary for the water cut to stay or else, the water crisis will further aggravate,” he said.
According to BMC data cited during the proceedings, the water stock in Mumbai’s seven lakes stood at 96.64 per cent on Tuesday. The corresponding level was 97.57 per cent on the same day last year and 99.09 per cent the year before. The lakes did not reach the 100 per cent mark this year.
Mumbai depends on Tulsi, Vihar, Bhatsa, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna for its water supply throughout the year. These lakes are located across suburban Mumbai and the neighbouring districts of Thane, Nashik and Palghar. During the monsoon, their catchment areas fill with rainwater, which is then transported through water-supply channels and reservoirs to households and establishments in the city.
The current restriction was announced in May after water stocks fell below 25 per cent and the India Meteorological Department projected a below-normal southwest monsoon for 2026. The projection was linked to El Niño, a climate phenomenon involving unusually warm sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Rainfall across the state has remained uneven. Mumbai received heavy showers in July, but June and August recorded rainfall deficits. The uneven pattern has affected the replenishment of the catchment areas even though the lakes held a relatively high percentage of their storage capacity on Tuesday.
The civic administration’s position is that the present reserve must be managed through the remaining dry period and the next monsoon cycle. Its warning places the continuation of the water cut within the city’s annual dependence on rainfall-fed reservoirs and the performance of catchment areas outside Mumbai’s municipal boundaries.
The 10 per cent restriction will therefore remain in force while the BMC monitors lake levels, rainfall and evaporation conditions. The administration has not announced a withdrawal date for the water cut.
