Pune: Water storage across the four dams in the Khadakwasla circle crossed the halfway mark on Wednesday evening, with the Khadakwasla dam reaching its full capacity at 1.97 TMC, prompting water release into the Mutha river for the first time this monsoon season.The four dams added nearly 2.8 TMC of water in the last 24 hours to reach 15 TMC (51.4% of the combined 29.15 TMC capacity) on Wednesday evening — enough to meet the city’s water demand for about nine months. On July 4, the combined storage in the four dams of the Khadakwasla circle stood at 4.6 TMC, which rose more than 10 TMC in just four days amid sustained heavy rainfall in the catchments.According to irrigation department officials, Panshet and Varasgaon — two key reservoirs in the circle — have reached around 50% of their individual storage capacities, while Khadakwasla has become completely full. “Stock in Temghar stood at 33% of its capacity on Wednesday evening, while Bhama Askhed, the fifth reservoir supplying water to the city, recorded 71% storage. Heavy rainfall continued in the catchment areas of all five dams throughout the day,” an irrigation department official said.The official said the water release from the Khadakwasla dam was started at 800 cusecs on Tuesday night and gradually increased to 28,000 cusecs by Wednesday morning. “The water release caused the Mutha river to swell, prompting closure of riverside roads and the Baba Bhide causeway to traffic. Water also entered some low-lying areas along Sinhagad Road and in Shivajinagar,” a civic official said.The irrigation department officials said the overall stock in the four dams in the Khadakwasla circle had not yet reached a comfortable position. “Khadakwasla is a relatively small reservoir and tends to fill up quickly after sustained rainfall, necessitating water releases even when upstream dams have not reached full capacity. A similar situation had occurred last year when water was released from the dam despite the upstream reservoirs not being full,” another official from the irrigation department said.Irrigation department data released on Wednesday showed that Khadakwasla received more than 400mm of rainfall since June 1. In comparison, Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar recorded around 1,000mm of rainfall each during the period. “The water discharge from the Khadakwasla dam is likely to be reduced as rainfall activity eases,” the official added.
