The Middle Vaitarna dam began overflowing early Sunday morning, marking a significant milestone as it became the fifth of seven lakes supplying water to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to reach full capacity. The overflow started at 2:45 am, prompted by continuous rainfall in the catchment area over the past few days, which has caused a rapid rise in water levels.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the two gates of the Middle Vaitarna dam were opened to release water at a rate of 706.30 cubic meters per second. The BMC’s water engineering department reported that the dam is now releasing excess water to manage the increased volume.
This overflow follows the earlier overflow of the Tulsi, Vihar, Modak Sagar, and Tansa lakes last month, which led the BMC to lift the 10% water cut previously imposed on the city’s water supply.
The Middle Vaitarna dam, officially named the ‘Hinduhrudaysamrat Shiv Pramukh Balasaheb Thackeray Madhya Vaitrana Reservoir,’ was completed by the BMC in 2014. Standing 102.4 meters high and 565 meters long, it has a maximum storage capacity of 193,530 million liters.
As of 6 am on Sunday, the combined water storage across all seven lakes stood at 12,89,615 million liters, or 89.1% of the total capacity. This marks a notable increase from the 11,47,086 million liters recorded on the same day last year.
Sources By Agencies
