Mumbai Rains: Recent Showers Help Improve Water Storage But Utilizable Capacity Still Low

Mumbai: The city woke up to a soggy morning on Friday, with overnight rain showers leading to waterlogging in several areas, including Sion, causing traffic congestion on various roads.

According to reports, certain sections of the city received more than 15 mm of rain between 7 am and 8 am, resulting in waterlogging in low-lying areas. The Andheri underground tunnel connecting Andheri and Jogeshwari train stations was also affected, impeding commuter flow in the Western suburbs.

The heavy rainfall caused traffic to slow down, making morning commute a challenging experience for many Mumbaikars. Despite the inconvenience, the rain brought some respite to the city's residents who have been struggling with scorching heat and humidity in recent days.

Water Storage in Lakes Show Mixed Trends

As the city returned to normalcy, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) released data on the water storage levels in the seven reservoirs that supply drinking water to the city. According to the latest report from the Hydraulic Engineer's Department at the Master Control Centre in Bhandup Complex, the collective water stock in the seven reservoirs stood at 3,29,992 million litres as of 6:00 am on July 12.

The utilizable water storage in the reservoirs that supply water to the city rose to 22.80%. In comparison, this day last year (2023) saw a utilizable storage level of 27.65%, while two years ago (2022) it was at 50.32%.

The report highlighted that Tansa Lake has seen a marginal increase of 0.04 meters, bringing its current level to 124.09 meters and a useful content of 66,706 ML. Similarly, Middle Vaitarna showed an increase of 0.46 meters, with its level now at 252.76 meters and a useful content of 44,132 ML.

On the other hand, Modak Sagar has seen a slight decrease of 0.14 meters, bringing its current level to 152.16 meters and a useful content of 47,746 ML. Upper Vaitarna's level remains unchanged at 594.98 meters, with a full storage level (FSL) content of 227,047 ML.

The report also revealed that Bhatasa has seen a rise of 0.40 meters, bringing its level to 115.90 meters and a useful content of 154,700 ML. Vihar Lake increased by 0.10 meters to a level of 76.89 meters, holding 11,771 ML of useful content. Tulsi Lake saw a rise of 0.02 meters to a level of 136.66 meters with a useful content of 4,936 ML.

The data shows that the total useful content across Upper Vaitarna, Vaitarna, Tansa, and Middle Vaitarna for this year stands at 1,585,584 ML, which is 22.83% of their combined live storage capacity.

Despite the rainfall in recent days, the city is still grappling with water scarcity issues. The authorities have urged citizens to conserve water and adopt measures to reduce their consumption.

With moderate to heavy spells of rain expected in the coming days, residents are hoping that this will lead to an increase in water levels and alleviate the city's water scarcity concerns.

The latest bout of monsoon fury saw several flight cancellations and delays at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Friday.

“The relentless heavy downpour in morning and late evening coupled with high tide led to disruptions and cancellations of several departure flights from Mumbai,” confirmed a senior Mumbai Air Traffic Controller.

The latest data from air traffic and flight tracker aviation site FlightRadar24 reported departure delay index score of 3.9 out of 5 for Mumbai Airport indicating a higher number of flight delay and cancellations expected. The live aviation site reported average 15 mins delay of flight arrivals and 42 mins delay in departure of flights at Mumbai Airport.

Major airlines announced flight delays on social media platform X and direct message on sms and whatsapp messages urging flyers to expect delays and check flight status before departure.

Earlier on Monday, the heavy downpour had led to 50 flights cancellations and 27 flights diverted to other airports with runway operations suspended due poor visibility at Mumbai Airport.