Mumbai to Double Water Supply by 2030 with New Rs 4,210-Crore Treatment Plants at Bhandup and Panjrapur
Mumbai’s water supply is set to get a massive boost of 3,000 million litres per day (MLD)—nearly doubling the supply—by 2030, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to construct two water treatment plants (WTP) at Bhandup and Panjrapur
This is part of the BMC’s move to upgrade Mumbai’s water supply infrastructure to meet future demand. The move also comes in line with the Mahayuti securing a majority in the civic elections held in February. The Mahayuti had promised to upgrade Mumbai’s water supply network.
The move also comes during the summer, when the BMC implements supply cuts to avoid water shortages.Mumbai has a water demand of 4,300 MLD, but the civic body is now able to supply only 3,850 MLD.
A WTP is an engineering facility where water is treated to make it fit for potable usage. Mumbai draws its potable water from seven different lakes—Tulsi, Vihar, Tansa, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Upper Vaitarna, and Middle Vaitarna. At present, water from these lakes is transported to the Bhandup filtration plant, where it is filtered; the treated water is then sent to households and institutions.
The Bhandup plant is Mumbai’s sole WTP, established in 1978. Over time, the facility has become old. Meanwhile, Mumbai’s water demand has also increased, and the Bhandup plant is equipped to treat a maximum of 2,810 MLD.
With several water supply projects underway, the BMC has proposed augmenting the supply chain, under which the Bhandup plant will have a capacity to treat 2,000 MLD of water daily, while the Panjrapur facility will have a capacity to treat 910 MLD. These two facilities will be equipped to treat and supply 3,000 MLD of water daily, which will be nearly double the quantum supplied today.
“In the next five years, several water supply projects are going to come up, including the 400-MLD desalination plant and the 450-MLD Gargai dam project. In total, the city will get an additional 850 MLD of water daily starting in 2029. As a result, there is a need to upgrade the filtration system, or else our existing facility will be inadequate,” an official told The Indian Express.
The official said that once these two new facilities at Bhandup and Panjrapur become operational, the old WTP will be upgraded, providing another backup support for treating 2,000 MLD of water regularly.
The cost of these two plants has been pegged at Rs 4,210 crore, and the BMC aims to commission them by 2030. The project is being awarded to the French giant Veolia, which will execute it with Welspun.
Seven sewage treatment plants
In addition to the desalination plant and the Gargai dam projects, the BMC is also constructing seven sewage treatment plants (STP) at a cost of Rs 27,700 crore at Worli, Dharavi, Bhandup, Ghatkopar, Bandra, Versova, and Malad. These STPs will treat Mumbai’s sewage water to make it pollutant-free and fit for non-potable usage
These seven STPs will have a combined capacity to treat 2,464 MLD, out of which 50 per cent or 1,232 MLD will be used for potable purposes. As a result, in addition to the 850 MLD of water that will come from the desalination plant and Gargai dam, an additional 1,232 MLD of water will also be pushed to the WTPs for treatment. In total, Mumbai will require daily treatment of 5,132 MLD of water by 2030.