Morbe dam water will last till July-end: NMMC

NMMC says there will be no further water cut, appeals to residents to help track leakages and illegal connections

While it is almost two months left for monsoon, officials from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) water department confirmed that the available water in Morbe Dam will last till July-end.

The dam level on April 13 was recorded as 48.13 million cubic metre ( MCM) and officials from the civic body claim that the stock will be sufficient till the end of July.

“The water level in Morbe dam is 69.10 m which equals to 48.15 million cubic metres. The dam is full at 88.0m which is 190 MCM of water,” said Jaswant Mistry, executive engineer, Morbe Dam.

“We are drawing only 288 MLD of water now which was 420 MLD before the cuts. As per estimation, around 6,000 MLD will be lost up to the end of June. Even after this, the water will last till July- end,” Mistry added.

Presently, there is a 33% water cut imposed by the civic body which was started with 25% in November last year.

However, the water supply was reduced in the morning and cuts extended till t he evening.

As per the government standard, per capita water supply should be 150 to 200 litres a day for population over 1 lakh.

Officials said the NMMC is supplying between 150 and 170 litres a person per day. However, officials said there would not be any further dip in the supply.

“We have imposed water cuts and reduction in supply in phases so that residents do not have face crisis suddenly. With the present condition, we will not make any further cuts in the supply,” said Arvind Shinde, executive engineer, water department of NMMC.

The civic body also conducted water audit last year in September of the distribution system and found that about 19

per cent is wasted due to leakage and illegal connections. The administration has sent around 4,235 notices in this

regard and efforts have been taken to plug leakages.

“We have formed a team and we will begin a survey again. Residents can help us in tracking leakages and unauthorised connections through the helpline numbers,” said Shinde.

PHOTOS: BACHCHAN KUMAR Residents of MIDC Nerul, one of the worst-hit areas, collect water from a broken pipeline.

A boy trudges home after fetching water from a pipeline at MIDC Nerul.