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Mumbai imposes water cuts as June rainfall hits 12-year low; reservoirs hold 40-day stock
Reserve in lakes supplying water has plunged to critical level of a little over 10%, which means availability of just 40 days of drinking water. Similar monsoon rain delays occurred in 2019 and 2023
- PUBLISHED: Thu 18 Jun 2026, 1:57 PM
The long-delayed southwest monsoon has forced the Mumbai civic body to suspend water supply to construction sites, impose a 20 per cent cut in daily water supply to industrial and commercial establishments and sports clubs and continue with the 10 per cent reduction in supplies to households, which are in force for the last one month.
The total stock in lakes supplying water to the city has plunged to a critical level of a little over 10 per cent, which means availability of just 40 days of drinking water. The current measures are the toughest since a 20 per cent cut was introduced in 2020.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has revised the onset of the southwest monsoon over Mumbai, from the earlier normal arrival date of June 11 to June 25. Similar delays had occurred twice in recent years, in 2019 and 2023.
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Met officials pointed out the delayed arrival of the rains does not necessarily result in a weak monsoon season. In the past, when they were delayed by a week or two, normal or even above-normal rainfall have been recorded. According to private forecaster Skymet Weather Services, Mumbai has received barely 2.5 per cent of its average 30-year precipitation for June so far.
Dwindling reserves in the seven lakes that supply drinking water to the metropolis have resulted in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body, imposing the new restrictions.
The reservoirs collectively held less than 145,000 million litres, which however, is marginally better compared to 141,500 million litres last year and way above the 78,000 million litres in 2024. Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Vihar and Tulsi are the seven lakes that supply around 4,000 million litres of potable water to the city daily.
The IMD had earlier indicated that parts of India could experience a weaker southwest monsoon this year because of El Niño effect. India received just 19.2mm of rainfall between June 4 and June 15, against a normal of 53.7mm, resulting in a hefty 64 per cent deficit. Just a little over 100 districts in the country have received near-normal rains, 236 have seen weak rainfall and over 200 very weak rainfall.
Mumbai receives about 2,200mm to 2,500mm of rainfall during the monsoons. But so far, Colaba has not even seen double-digit rainfall, while Santacruz got less than 15mm. The average rainfall in June in Mumbai is over 525mm.
