Mumbai: The BMC opened two gates of the Middle Vaitarna dam in the early hours of Monday after the reservoir’s water level touched 282 metres, reflecting the strong inflows from the ongoing southwest monsoon.Although the dam’s full supply level is 285 metres, the BMC does not allow the reservoir to fill to its brim. Civic officials maintain a buffer to accommodate additional inflows from the Upper Vaitarna dam whenever water is released from there.Water discharged from the Middle Vaitarna dam flows into Modak Sagar, one of the seven lakes that supply drinking water to Mumbai.With steady rainfall continuing across the catchment areas, water stock in the seven reservoirs supplying the city has now reached 12.79 lakh million litres, or 88% of their total storage capacity.The improvement marks a dramatic turnaround from the beginning of the month. On July 1, the combined storage in the seven lakes dropped to just 7.18%, raising concerns over the city’s water security.The sustained southwest monsoon over the past few weeks has significantly replenished the reservoirs, easing fears of water shortages and ensuring comfortable reserves for Mumbai in the months ahead. However, Mumbai is still reeling under a 10% water cut.The seven reservoirs — Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Vihar and Tulsi — collectively supply nearly 4,000 million litres of water to Mumbai every day.
