Special Correspondent
Pune: Continuous rainfall in the catchment areas of the Khadakwasla project has significantly improved water storage across all four dams supplying water to Pune city. As of now, the total water stock in these dams stands at 16.78 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic feet), a sharp increase from just 4.72 TMC on the same date last year.
Unseasonal showers in May and consistent monsoon rains have led to a rapid rise in water levels. In just 24 hours—from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening—1 TMC of water was added to the dams. Officials have confirmed that the current storage is sufficient to meet Pune’s water needs for the entire year, relieving residents of any water scarcity concerns.
The Khadakwasla project includes four key dams: Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon, and Temghar. Together, these dams have a total storage capacity of 29.15 TMC. Pune requires approximately 1.25 TMC of water per month, all of which is sourced from this dam chain.
Here’s the current water stock in each dam:
Khadakwasla: 1.28 TMC (64.75% full)
Panshet: 5.92 TMC (55.55%)
Varasgaon: 7.90 TMC (61.63%)
Temghar: 1.69 TMC (45.50%)
Combined, the four dams are now at 57.57% of their total capacity. This marks a dramatic improvement from the same period last year when the collective storage was just 16.19% of capacity.
Last year, sudden water release from Khadakwasla Dam caused flood-like conditions in parts of the city. In response, then Deputy CM Ajit Pawar had directed that the dam should be maintained at 50% capacity during the latter part of the monsoon season. Acting on that directive, the administration has so far released 3.19 TMC of water from the dam this year to maintain safe levels.
