Once consisted of group of seven islands called Colaba, Mazagaon, Old woman’s Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel and Matunga – Sion.

Although now is a city then too it’s nothing less than a island .Mumbai has an abundance of lakes in its vicinity. The Western Ghats trap most of the moisture laden monsoon clouds which feed these lakes. However with the burgeoning population, the current supply levels are still inadequate. Here are the lakes supplying the city its daily precious liquid.

Tulsi Lake

Vaitarna

Vehar lake

Tansa Dam

Powai lake

Lakes near MumbaiLake Overflow level in metresModak Sagar - 163.15Tansa Lake - 128.63Vihar Lake - 80.42Tulsi Lake - 139.17Upper Vaitarana - 603.51Bhatsa - 133.00The water purifying factory in Bhandup is the largest in Asia. Tulsi, Vihar lakes supply the southern region of Mumbai, while the rest supply the suburbs. An underground tank in Malabar Hills is used to store the water

Mangroves are buffers between the land and the sea. Coastlines throughout the world are facing serious problems of coastal erosion and threat of rising sea levels due to global warming have increased the threats by several folds. To control such assault of the sea on land the nature has provided what is called as Mangroves, a tropical littoral ecosystem which is more dynamic than the sea itself.

ALTHOUGH A BIG PUBLIC ATTRACTION WE DON’T BOTHER TO THINK THAT THEY ARE CONSTANTLY GETTING DAMAGED .

A N EXAMPLE OF SUCH DEVASTATION ………………….

EK MEETHI SI BHOOLEK MEETHI SI BHOOLMUMBAI HAS A NUMBER OF LAKES BUT, WITH THIS THERE EXITED A RIVER WHICH MAINLY REMAINED UN-NOTICED FOR YEARS UNTIL IT BROUGHT TROUBLE ….

AS BEING A PART OF OUR CITY’S HERITAGE ,,WE NEED TO SAVE THEM…WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME IN OUR HANDS TO STEP FORWARD AND TAKE NECESSARY DECISIONS

WHAT CAUSES HARM TO THIS WATER BODIES ?

SEA WATER INTRUSION –AT Colaba, Dharvi, Khar, Anderi, Chembur, Malad etc.

INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION – Greater mumbai area( High Nitrate, trace elements like Cu, Cr, Hg etc are found in water)

Source: Central Ground Water Board

DISPOSAL OF WASTE MATERIALS INTO THIS LAKES

oDELAID OR IRREGULAR CLEANING BY ATHORITIES

oAND LOOPHOLES IN THE LAWS

Water Supply of Mumbai.The responsibility of water supply & sanitation is fully borne by Municipal Corporation of Brihanmumbai. Earlier City had many Wells & Tanks. These Talaos not only met City’s water demand but also helped in maintaining Ground Water Table & quality of water in wells. With Urbanization the tanks were filled, well water was no longer of desired quality. Yet many wells in City & Suburbs have good quality water which is available in Tankers. The present water demand of Mumbai is 3400 MLD against supply of 2900 MLD. This difference was expected to grow much higher in 2021for a projected population of 15.60 millions. But this population is almost there today itself & the city is facing water shortage in some areas

PRESENT WATER SOURCE 68

18

455

1044

1365

DEMAND, SUPPLY AND GAP

34002900

500

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

1 2 3

SOURCE : MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF BRIHANMUMBAI

IN M

ILLI

ON L

ITRE

S PE

R DA

Y

• Only 20 per cent of the water is used for drinking, cooking;

Over 60 per cent is used for bathing, washing and flushing down the toilet. Important that our water toilets are still 10-12 litres per each pull of the chain.

80% potable and easily recyclable water ends up as waste-water

• Only 24 per cent of the wastewater generated by urban India is treated—Mumbai accounts for 23 per cent of the total amount produced

• The rest 76 per cent is disposed of into WATER BODIES (rivers, lakes etc) untreated

• These water bodies are the water sources for the cities in the down stream

FACT FILE ABOUT WATER USE AND WASTAGE

Different methods of water conservation.Water conservation starts from our simple habits. When we serve or take one glass of water (@ 200 - 300 ml) hardly any body is able to consume it. The balance water is just put into drains. We can use small glasses or adopt conventional glass & lota system. The unused drinking water cannot go back into main storage vessel but it can be stored in a small bucket, which can be used for gardening plants or dipping clothes for washing. People throw away water filled yesterday saying it is a stale water. The water does not become stale if you have stored properly. Does Gangajal we store in our houses for years together become stale? If you feel psychologically uncomfortable using the water please visit the overhead & suction tanks in the buildings where water is stored for a day before supplying it to you. If you can afford to drink that water on a particular day, you can consume it on the next day also. At least start using that water for other uses including bathing.

How can a common man help M.C.G.M. ?* Do not waste water.* Stop leakages in the premises.* Minimise water requirement by using appropriate plumbing fixtures.* Please lodge complaint for leaking water mains on 23776294/97 (City), 26146852/26184173 (W.S.) 25153258/72(E.S.)* Introduce water conservation and reuse in our daily habits.* Use recycled water, harvested rain water wherever possible.