Water usage hits six-month high in April, cuts loom large in Pune

PUNE: Water consumption in the city hit a six-month high of 1.47 TMC in April, hinting that the supply cuts may return to haunt the residents sooner than expected.

The civic authorities lifted around 1393.15 million litres of water daily, which adds up to 1.47 TMC for the entire month of April. This was the highest since November 2018, data released by the irrigation department has revealed. “In March as well, the consumption was high at 1.40 TMC,” it stated.
The rising water consumption becomes worrisome as the storage in the four dams supplying water to the city has slipped below 5 TMC. “If the water consumption pattern continues, it won’t last beyond July as a lot depends on the monsoon. The authorities should have planned for the situation beforehand,” activist Vivek Velankar said.
Between November 2018 and April this year, the city lifted over 1.4 TMC water per month in December, March and April (see box). “The consumption was the lowest in February only when it came down to 1.24 TMC,” the data revealed.
The rising consumption is in huge contrast to water saving measures employed by the state irrigation department and the Pune Municipal Corporation. “Thursday supply cuts were introduced to ensure adequate water supply to the city till the arrival of monsoon. If the consumption trend persists, more water cuts may become imminent,” an expert said.
The four dams — Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar — that supply water to the city have collective stock of 29.15 TMC, out of which more than 14 TMC is utilized by the city annually. The remaining water is released into the canal for agricultural purposes. On Saturday, the collective water stock in the four dams was recorded at 4.43 TMC (15.1%). The dams are already done with this year’s water release for irrigation and the remaining stock has now been set aside to meet drinking water requirements for the city.
Officials in the state irrigation department said the civic administration was urged in last October to restrict water usage to ensure adequate supply. “However, drawing of water has not dropped since then. In fact, it has gone up in the last two months — March and April. In May, the city utilized 0.71 TMC water in the first 15 days. At this rate, the consumption is likely to go beyond 1.4 TMC for the third consecutive month,” an official of the irrigation department said.
He said water release for irrigation was brought down and one rotation of water release was cancelled due to depleting water storage. “The existing stock will provide water to the city till July 15. The stock can last beyond it, if water usage is brought down,” he said.