WRD to NMC: Use dam quota judiciously due to El Nino risk

Nashik: With El Nino likely to affect monsoon rainfall, the state water resources department (WRD) has directed the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) to judiciously use water from its reserved dam quota till Aug end and take precautionary measures.The advisory follows a forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) that El Nino conditions are expected to be active between June and Aug this year. This is expected to adversely impact rainfall during the monsoon season. The WRD has sent a letter to the Nashik Municipal Corporation in this regard. However, the NMC administration clarified that there will be no water cuts as the civic body has adequate water available in its dam reservations for the ongoing reservation period."We have adequate quota of water reservations in Gangapur, Mukane and Darna dams, that will cater to the city till mid-August. Moreover, monsoon will definitely come in the catchment areas of the dams by July end," said a senior official from the NMC."Our priority is to provide regular and adequate water to the city residents in view of the rising complaints of the city residents about the disrupted water supply," added NMC official. The total water reservation for Nashik city for the 2025-26 reservation period (Oct 15 2025 to July 31 2026) is 6,400 mcft from three dams during the water reservation period between Oct 15 last year and July 31 this year, including 4,600 mcft in Gangapur dam, 1,500 mcft in Mukane dam and 300 mcft in Darna dam.The civic body has utilised 3,798 mcft of water up to April 14, while NMC still has 2,602 mcft of its reserved water quota remaining in the dams. Officials said this quantity would be sufficient to meet the city's requirements till Aug 15.NMC officials said the impact of El Nino was there in 2023 too, but there had been rains and water level in the dams had increased in July and August, thus no water cuts were imposed.