PUNE: There is a possibility that there will be 23 TMC water storage on October 15 in the Khadakwasla reservoir system and this will be the lowest storage in eight years. The city will need 15.56 TMC drinking water till July 15 next year. After deducting 2.72 TMC water due to evaporation, five TMC water will be available for agriculture. After using the water for the first phase of the rabbi season, there is little possibility of water remaining for the summer season.
In July and August, the rain was less in the catchment areas of the dams. In September so far, there has been very little rain. Only one month of monsoon is remaining. If it rains heavily in the catchment area of the dams, the water storage will increase. After considering the water storage on October 15 in the Khadakwasla reservoir system, the water distribution mechanism is decided. A decision will be taken in the canal committee meeting about allocation of water for drinking and agriculture.
A meeting of the canal committee meeting was held on September 2 under the chairmanship of Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil. It was decided to give water for kharif crop season till October 15 and allocate water to Pune city as usual. During this meeting, the Water Resources Department had pointed out that till October 15, there will be 17.16 TMC water left. In the Khadakwasla reservoir system, on August 31, there was 27.60 TMC water. Today (September 13) evening, it is 27.41 TMC. For the kharif crop season, 2.75 TMC water will be required till October 15. For the next 33 days, Pune will need 1.88 TMC water. Hence, considering the water storage on September 13, 22.78 TMC water will be remaining.
Since Navratra is in October and Diwali is in November, tough decisions about water distribution are avoided during the festival season. However, if there is no good rainfall next month, considering the less storage, there is a need to take an early decision. Water is being released for kharif crops from July 27. Till October 15, 7.62 TMC water will be used till October 15. For the Janai Sirsai project, 1.47 TMC water will be required.
Sunanda Jagtap, Superintending Engineer, Water Resources Department, said, “Water will be released for kharif crops till October 15. Since the rainfall is less, farmers are demanding water. Due to less rainfall, the storage in the dams is less compared to last year. A decision about future water distribution will be taken in the next meeting of the canal committee considering the storage on October 15.”
Storage in the dams on October 15 (TMC)
2015: 16.17
2016: 28.02
2017: 27.45
2018: 25.38
2019: 28.15
2020: 29.03
2021: 28.68
2022: 29.08
2023: 22.78
