BMC corporators seek desilting assessment for Mumbai reservoirs

Mumbai’s seven drinking-water reservoirs may be assessed for desilting after corporators raised concerns about storage capacity lost to silt.

At a Standing Committee meeting, chairman Prabhakar Shinde called for the reservoirs to be desilted every five to 10 years, preferably before the monsoon. Corporator Ganesh Khankar suggested starting with the smaller Vihar and Tulsi lakes, while corporator Tulip Miranda sought a consultant to assess silt levels and recommend suitable work.

Surveys by the Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute recorded storage-capacity declines of 16.42% at Vihar, 14.98% at Tulsi, 15.023% at Tansa, 8.986% at Modak Sagar and 1.709% at Middle Vaitarna. Corporators said a 4% rise in reserves could provide up to 15 additional days of supply.

The BMC said it would assess whether desilting is needed and feasible after reviewing a state government pilot at seven major irrigation projects and seeking expert advice.