Pune: Storage in the four dams of the Khadakwasla circle rose by 1 TMC overnight to reach 16.1 TMC on Thursday morning, as rainfall in their catchments dropped sharply. With inflows easing, release from the Khadakwasla dam into the Mutha river was stopped, easing concerns for residents along the riverbanks and in the low-lying areas like Ektanagari.Between Tuesday midnight and Wednesday night, the Khadakwasla dam discharged around 1.5 TMC of water into the river — enough to meet Pune’s water requirements for almost a month. “While water release into the Mutha river has stopped, water is still being diverted into canal. This discharge, too, may be suspended in the coming days if the subdued rainfall pattern continues,” an irrigation department official said.Officials said Khadakwasla’s limited storage capacity of just 1.97 TMC left little room to absorb sudden inflows. “Unlike the much larger Panshet and Varasgaon reservoirs upstream, Khadakwasla quickly reaches its limits. Adding to the challenge, there is no reservoir downstream, meaning any excess water released from the dam rushes directly into the Mutha river,” the official said.The discharge into the river initially began at 800 cusec and was gradually increased to 28,000 cusec on Wednesday afternoon before being reduced and eventually stopped. Last monsoon, the Khadakwasla dam had released more than 27 TMC of excess water into the Mutha river over the four-month rainy season following heavy rainfall spells. The last year’s discharge was just 2 TMC less than the Khadakwasla circle dams’ collective storage of 29.15 TMC.The officials said future water releases would depend entirely on how the monsoon progressed in the coming days. “Rainfall has dropped considerably not only in Khadakwasla’s catchment but also in those of the other three dams in the Khadakwasla circle,” another official said, adding that for now, the combined reserves in the four dams were nearly 55% of their total capacity.Bhama Askhed dam, a key source of water for eastern Pune, reached 73% of its storage capacity. Panshet, Varasgaon and Khadakwasla recorded no rainfall on Thursday, while Temghar received just 8mm, a fraction of the showers witnessed earlier this week.
