Taps in Nashik city to run dry today as NMC imposes weekly water cuts on Saturdays

Nashik: The city will face complete water cut on Saturday as the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) will implement its once-a-week supply suspension.Supply on Sunday is expected to resume with low pressure across the city, but will get restored from Monday.

The decision comes amid delayed monsoon conditions and the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) warning of a possible El Niño impact, which could weaken the rainfall this season.Despite three weeks of June having passed, the city is yet to receive rainfall, increasing concerns over dwindling water reserves. Civic authorities said the weekly water cut — to be enforced every Saturday starting June 20 — aims to ensure the available water stock lasts till Aug 31.“There will be no water supply across Nashik city on every Saturday. This measure is essential to ensure our reserved quota sustains till the end of Aug,” Ravindra Dharankar, superintending engineer (water supply and sewage management), said.The move follows directions from district guardian secretary Eknath Dawale, who instructed the civic body during a recent review meeting to manage water reserves prudently.

Officials said the current stock is projected to last only till Aug 13, leaving a shortfall of about 18 days, prompting the need for weekly cuts.To manage the situation further, the civic body is also considering implementing water cuts every two days for a period of 11 days in Aug, if required. “These steps are precautionary to ensure the city gets water supply till Aug-end,” the officials said.The city has been allocated 6,400 million cubic feet (mcft) of water for the current water reservation cycle (Oct 15, 2025 to July 31, 2026), sourced from Gangapur (4,600 mcft), Mukane (1,500 mcft) and Darna (300 mcft) dams.

Of this, around 5,134 mcft has already been used, leaving 1,266 mcft in reserve.NMC supplies about 600 million litres per day (MLD), translating to daily consumption of around 21 mcft. Gangapur dam alone accounts for nearly 80% of the city’s supply.Officials, however, remain hopeful. “A similar situation arose in 2023 due to El Niño concerns, but rainfall improved by June-end, allowing us to withdraw the cuts. We expect the monsoon to pick up soon and improve the storage levels,” they said.