Upper Vaitarna nears full capacity, says Mumbai civic body

Five gates of Middle Vaitarna opened at 5.30 am on August 4

Upper Vaitarna, one of the seven lakes supplying water to the city is expected to fill up in the coming days. The BMC had previously drawn water from Upper Vaitarna's reserve stock, which caused this lake to lag behind the others in reaching optimal levels.

Despite a lull in heavy rainfall for over a week, light to moderate showers have continued in the lake areas, gradually increasing the water levels. Currently, the water stock is over 92 per cent. As of Sunday, Upper Vaitarna, which can store 2.27 lakh million litres of water out of the total 14.47 lakh million litres capacity of all the lakes, was 85 per cent full.

When the lake levels dropped below 7 per cent, the BMC began using reserve water from Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa starting from the first week of June. The BMC drew 48,432 million litres of water stored below the lake's lowest drawable level (LDL). Consequently, when heavy rain began in early July, Upper Vaitarna lagged behind the other lakes as it took over a week to raise its water level to the LDL. Being located upstream of Vaitarna lake, it is typically the last lake to fill up each year.

Tulsi Lake began overflowing on July 20, followed by Tansa on July 24. Vihar and Modak Sagar both overflowed on July 25. To manage flood risks, five gates of Middle Vaitarna were opened on August 4 after it reached 95 per cent capacity, and the five gates of Bhatsa, the largest lake, were also opened on August 4 when it reached 90 per cent capacity.