With 96% of water storage available across 24 major dam projects in the district, Nashik’s water concerns for the year have been resolved. This positive outlook follows heavy monsoon rains in September and October that filled rivers and streams to capacity.
A meeting chaired by District Collector Jalaj Sharma on Thursday reviewed the water situation and decided to finalise the allocation of water for drinking, industrial, and irrigation purposes. The final decision will be taken in the presence of the district’s new Guardian Minister.
Post-elections, Collector Sharma has renewed focus on district water management and convened a meeting with officials from the Water Resources Department. Various organisations and local bodies have already submitted their requests for emergency water allocation. Once these are addressed, water reserved for industrial and irrigation purposes will be allocated from the surplus storage.
The Nashik Municipal Corporation has requested an increase in water allocation from 6,100 to 6,200 million cubic feet for the next year, citing the city’s growing needs. This demand will also be reviewed by the Guardian Minister.
Officials assure that with the abundant storage, Nashik district is well-prepared to meet its water needs until the next monsoon.
Last year, Nashik faced an alarming water crisis and the situation became grimmer as at least eight out of 24 dams in the district had run completely dry, plummeting the water stock to critical levels.
The reason for the low water stock was due to a mostly-dry monsoon last year, during which the Nashik district received only 70 percent of the average rainfall, resulting in a drought-like situation in the region. The unprecedented heat wave in the region had added to the people’s woes as most wells and other sources of water in Nashik’s rural areas, had also dried up.
