NMC Records Highest-Ever Water Withdrawal As Summer Demand Peaks

Nagpur: The heatwave conditions prevailing across the region has resulted in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) increasing water withdrawal to nearly its full allocated quota of 786 million litres per day (MLD) to ensure uninterrupted supply across the city.According to officials from NMC's waterworks department, the civic body has been drawing around 780 MLD of water per day over the last 10 days, marking the highest-ever water withdrawal in the city's history. Until recently, NMC was drawing approximately 765MLD from its two primary water sources.Of the current 780 MLD withdrawal, around 230 MLD is being sourced from the Kanhan river system, while the remaining 550 MLD is being pumped from the Pench reservoir. Officials said the increased withdrawal was necessitated by rising consumption during the peak summer season and growing demand from newly developed localities.A senior official told TOI that NMC has, for the first time, come close to utilising its entire sanctioned allocation of 786 MLD. "The increased pumping began around 10 days ago. Demand has gone up significantly due to the intense summer and expansion of the city," he said.The city currently has around 4.5 lakh water consumers within NMC limits. While most areas are connected to the piped water network, several peripheral localities continue to depend on tanker supply.To serve these non-network areas, NMC has deployed 36 water tankers, each making between eight and 10 trips daily. Officials said tanker operations have been intensified to ensure that residents in fringe areas do not face shortages. In addition to NMC's tanker fleet, Orange City Water (OCW) has also deployed tankers to supplement supply wherever required.The civic body distributes water through a network of 109 storage facilities, comprising both ground storage reservoirs (GSRs) and elevated storage reservoirs (ESRs) spread across the city. Depending on local demand, infrastructure capacity and storage levels, water supply duration varies from two hours to 24 hours across different zones.Data from NMC's waterworks department shows that around 85,000 consumers, primarily located in southwest Nagpur, currently receive 24x7 water supply under the city's continuous water supply initiative.Officials maintained that the present water stock position in the Pench reservoir remains comfortable, and there is no immediate threat to supply. However, they said prudent use of water remains essential as the city continues to witness increasing demand with expanding urbanisation.