The water distribution system in Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli is set to get an overhaul in the next two years. Both the municipalities are in the process of acquiring modern online water monitoring system which will help them combat water leakage. Both TMC and KDMC lose 35 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, of their water supply, to leakage or thefts on a daily basis.

The city of Thane has a population of over 24 lakh. It gets 480 MLD (million litre per day) water regularly from the MIDC (Maharashtra industrial development corporation) and other sources. However, it loses 35 per cent of this supply to water leakages, thefts, and so on. To bring this under control, the civic body had earlier proposed water metering, which is yet to take off.

Along with this, the civic body also wants to undertake daily water audits under the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) wing. "This will help us keep an eye on our daily water supply, distribution, water pressure, and leakages in different areas," a senior official from the TMC's water department said. "All this information will be available online through SCADA and will help us plug loopholes. It will help us maintain and upgrade our water distribution system," he added.

The TMC has reserved a budget of Rs 20 crore for SCADA which is likely to be operational by March 2020. It also wants to do an energy audit of the water pumping machinery to curb energy wastage. An amount of Rs 1 crore has been earmarked for this purpose.

Even the KDMC wants to have an online water audit monitoring system. "Right now we are meeting vendors who can help us curb water leakage in our jurisdiction. This will take some time," a KDMC official said. The civic authority supplies 400 MLD of water daily to over 13 lakh people and loses 21 per cent of its quota everyday.