Water Scarcity Threatens Pune as Khadakwasla Dam Chain Depletes and El Niño Delays Monsoon Forecast

The Khadakwasla dam system has dropped to a critical 23.40% capacity, forcing irrigation operations to shut down by June to safeguard vital drinking water reservoirs until late August

KHADAKWASLA | May 28, 2026: The critical Khadakwasla dam chain, which sustains over ten million urban residents and irrigates 66,000 hectares of agricultural land across the Pune district, has dropped to a combined storage level of 6.82 TMC. Resource managers warned that high-volume outflows for both domestic consumption and rural crop maintenance are depleting the reservoirs hourly. Compounded by El Niño patterns hinting at a delayed monsoon onset, local authorities are preparing for severe mandatory water cuts if emergency conservation protocols are not immediately enforced.

Water Resources Department officials announced that the active canal release of 1,005 cusecs for agricultural rotation will terminate permanently by the first week of June. Past that threshold, all remaining reserves will be exclusively ring-fenced for civilian drinking purposes. The systemic strain is heavily visible across the network; the Temghar reservoir has run completely dry, shifting the entire logistical burden onto the Panshet and Varasgaon dams. These two channels are currently discharging 600 cusecs each into the Khadakwasla basin to balance the city’s immediate daily intake.

To insulate urban centers against extended dry spells, water planners are strategically stretching current reserves to last until the end of August. Although the current volume is marginally better than last year’s record low of 19.43%, extreme summer heatwaves across the catchment zones are triggering massive daily evaporation losses. Suburban farming belts in Daund, Haveli, and Indapur will face immediate irrigation halts, emphasizing the transition into strict contingency management as the region awaits seasonal rainfall.

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