Mumbai is facing a severe water crisis as the combined live storage in its seven supply reservoirs has dropped to less than 7%, according to the latest data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Hydraulic Engineer's Department. This represents a dramatic decline from 39.5% water stock in the corresponding period last year, highlighting the severe impact of delayed monsoon and insufficient rainfall on the financial capital's water supply. The seven reservoirs together held 1,00,279 million litres of water at 6.93% of their total live storage capacity as of 6 am on Monday, compared with 5,71,670 million litres (39.5%) on the same day last year.
The seven reservoirs that make up Mumbai's water supply system have a combined useful storage capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres and supply around 4,000 million litres of potable water daily to the city. Among the individual reservoirs, Vihar recorded the highest storage at 45.13% of its live capacity, followed by Tulsi at 24.26% and Modak Sagar at 18.47%. Four major reservoirs - Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa and Middle Vaitarna - together contained 46,192 million litres of water, accounting for 6.65% of their combined live storage capacity. Upper Vaitarna continued to remain below its Lower Drawdown Level (LDL) with zero useful live storage, though 11,974 million litres of water below the LDL was being utilised.
Recent rainfall data shows Tulsi received 179 mm of rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 6 am, while Vihar recorded 112 mm, Modak Sagar 38 mm, and the Bhandup Complex 191 mm. However, these rainfall amounts have not been sufficient to significantly improve the overall water situation. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has implemented comprehensive water conservation measures following directives from the Maharashtra government's Water Resources Department. The civic body had already imposed a 10% water cut in Mumbai from May 15, and implemented a 20% water cut for industrial and commercial establishments starting June 17. The BMC has also begun implementing austerity measures for drinking water management, with the hydraulic engineer's department issuing detailed circulars outlining steps to be taken during the water-cut period.
The Mumbai water crisis occurs against the backdrop of 166 reservoirs across the country declining to 48.405 billion cubic metres (BCM) during the week ending June 25, 2026, as reported by Business Standard. This represents a decrease from the previous week's 50.457 BCM, marking continued deterioration in water storage capacity. The situation in Mumbai is particularly concerning as it shows less than 7% water stock compared to the national average. According to Central Water Commission data, reservoirs in eastern India (27 reservoirs) and southern India (47 reservoirs) showed the most significant decline, with storage levels even lower than the 10-year average. The delayed arrival and slow progress of the monsoon have prompted close monitoring of reservoir levels, with concerns raised over the city's water supply due to forecasts indicating possible development of strong El Nino conditions later this year.
