No Summer Cuts Likely as Lake Levels Hit 3-Year High
3 min readMumbaiMar 19, 2026 10:18 PM IST
With the total stock across seven dams supplying water to Mumbai at a three-year high, the city is unlikely to reel under a water cut this summer.
According to senior officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the current stock in seven lakes is sufficient to cater to Mumbai’s potable water needs until the onset of monsoon in June.
Situated along the Western Ghats, Mumbai fetches its daily quota of water from seven lakes – Tulsi, Vihar, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna – which are replenished during the monsoon season. Through a network of water channels, raw water from the dams are transmitted to water treatment plants in Bhandup and Panjrapur, and eventually to water service reservoirs, through which water is dispatched across the city round the year.
On Thursday, the total stock in the seven lakes touched 6.44 lakh million litres or 44.54 per cent of the total capacity, marking a three-year high in lake levels for the period. In 2025, the lake levels touched 40.40 percent of the total holding capacity on the same day while in 2024, the lake levels had dipped to 35.10 percent.
Despite an early onset of heatwave with three heatwave warnings sounded in the region this month, senior officials from the BMC said that the city is unlikely to experience a water cut during the summer months owing to sufficient stock in lakes. According to the BMC, one percent of water from lakes is sufficient to last three days. With the stock at 44 per cent currently, the present stock of water will suffice until monsoon, when Mumbai’s lakes get replenished. The official date of monsoon onset in Mumbai is June 11.
“We have sufficient stock at present to meet the city’s demands throughout the summer months, until the onset of monsoon,” said a senior official. The three-year high in water levels come along the heels of above average monsoon in 2025, which also witnessed the earliest onset of monsoon in nearly 75 years.
While officials aired concerns that the frequent heatwaves in March may trigger faster evaporation of water, they maintained that water cut is unlikely at present owing to the reserve state stock from Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa dams.
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“As a precautionary measure, we will write to the state government requesting allocation of reserve water stock from the Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa dams. In case of a crisis, the water is prioritised for distribution for drinking needs, followed by agriculture and industries,” added the BMC official. Typically, the state government grants allocation of 1.81 lakh million litres of water from the Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa dams to the BMC to ensure sufficient stock for the city.
