Something interesting came out from Mumbai's water situation on July 10,2026 . City's reservoir levels have now reached 49.41% of total useful live storage capacity and honestly,the numbers tell quite a mixed story when you look at them carefully .
According to Hydraulic Engineer's Department,total water volume across all reservoirs currently stands at 715,210 million litres out of possible 1,447,363 ML . That is a significant amount of water but there is still long way to go before city can feel completely comfortable.
The rise recorded between 6 AM on July 9 and 6 AM on July 10 was only 0.82% . That is relatively modest increase and it happened because rainfall during that particular period was lower than expected . Catchment areas are replenishing,but at slower pace right now.
Now looking at individual reservoirs,picture becomes more interesting.
Few key numbers worth knowing from this report:
- Modak Sagar is at 83.27% capacity with 107,351 ML stored,while Tansa holds 113,608 ML at 78.31% capacity .
- Bhatsa Reservoir,which is largest contributor to Mumbai's water supply,currently contains 311,821 ML,equating to only 43.49% of its total capacity .
- Middle Vaitarna recorded highest rise of 0.59 metres during this period,while only 1 mm of rainfall was recorded at Modak Sagar and other reservoirs saw no rainfall at all.
Vihar and Tulsi Lakes are both sitting at 100% useful storage capacity right now . Vihar Lake has actually been overflowing since July 7 at 9 PM which is genuinely good news for city's supply situation . Although report also mentions that both lakes saw slight declines of 0.05 m and 0.03 m respectively,so overflow situation is stabilising slowly .
Upper Vaitarna and Middle Vaitarna reservoirs together are holding 367,645 ML which works out to 52.93% of their combined useful capacity . Worth noting that Middle Vaitarna WSCPO gate remains open right now,while water release from Upper Vaitarna was actually halted on July 6 after it had started back on June 22.
And this part stood out to me . Cumulative rainfall recorded at Bhandup Complex has reached 1,716 mm overall . That is substantial monsoon activity across region and shows broader rainfall pattern even when individual reservoir catchments are seeing slow days.
Honestly,city is in decent but not fully comfortable position at this point in monsoon season . Nearly half capacity with two lakes already full sounds promising on surface,but Bhatsa sitting at only 43.49% when it is largest contributor… that is something civic planners will be watching closely.
And the real question is whether coming weeks bring enough rainfall to push those larger reservoirs meaningfully higher before monsoon season starts winding down . Because modest increases like 0.82% in single day,while not alarming,also do not leave much room for complacency if dry spells extend longer than expected…
