The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to construct a pumping station near Vihar Lake. The station will have a capacity of 200 million litres per day (MLD) and will redirect extra water to the Bhandup filtration plant. During the monsoon, it is expected to add 90 MLD to Mumbai's daily water supply.
A construction order has been issued to build a pumping station. The station will take at least 1.5 years to complete and will be operational by 2027. Water will be diverted from Vihar Lake to the Bhandup complex, where it will be treated. The treated water will be added to the city's supply during the monsoon.
Flooding is common in areas such as Saki Naka, Bandra Kurla Complex, and Kranti Nagar during the monsoon when the Mithi River overflows. Flooding on railway tracks in Kurla and Sion often disrupts local train services. The pumping station will provide relief to these areas. The total cost of the project is estimated at INR 98 crores.
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The BMC currently supplies 3,950 MLD of water, while the city's daily requirement has grown to 4,463 MLD. For this, BMC is also planning a weir between the Middle Vaitarna and Modak Sagar reservoirs. The BMC is planning to store excess water to increase the city’s supply. A consultant is assessing the feasibility, and a report is awaited.
Mumbai largely depends on water from the Vaitarna River. This river originates in the Sahyadri mountain range. The Middle Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, and Modak Sagar dams together supply 1,550 MLD of water to the city. Water from both Upper and Middle Vaitarna is diverted to the Bhandup filtration plant for treatment.
The latest dam, Middle Vaitarna, was built in 2012 and added 455 MLD to the supply. Two more projects, the Gargai dam and a desalination plant, are in the tunnel. But they will take three to four years to complete. Modak Sagar, also called Lower Vaitarna, receives heavy rainfall and fills quickly during the monsoon.