Nagpur: With deficient rainfall raising concerns over the city’s water security, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Saturday presented a water conservation action plan to revenue minister and district guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, targeting savings of 27.7 million litres per day (MLD) through recycled water, leakage repairs and stricter enforcement against wastage.NMC currently supplies around 786 MLD of water to the city, including 240 MLD drawn from Kanhan river and 546 MLD from the Pench system. With reservoir levels significantly below those recorded last year, the civic body is exploring ways to conserve potable water and reduce pressure on its existing sources.20 MLD SAVINGS FROM RECYCLED WATERThe biggest component of the proposed plan is the reuse of treated sewage water from 10 sewage treatment plants (STPs), expected to save 20 MLD of drinking water. NMC plans to install hydrants at these plants to supply recycled water through tankers for construction sites, vehicle washing centres, gardens and other non-potable uses, said municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar.The civic body also plans to persuade bulk consumers, including the railways, airport authority, Military Engineering Services (MES) and hospitals, to reduce their consumption of treated drinking water and use recycled water or well water wherever feasible. This is expected to save another 2 MLD, NMC officials said.NMC has identified 400 wells for greater use, targeting savings of 2 MLD. Another 0.03 MLD is expected to be saved by shifting 75 vehicle washing centres to well or borewell water.LEAKAGE REPAIRS, ENFORCEMENT TO BOOST SAVINGSThe civic body estimates that 108 water leakage repairs have already saved 3.8 MLD. It plans to repair leaks in feeder pipelines to save an additional 3 MLD.To prevent damage to water pipelines during excavation, NMC will direct construction agencies to obtain prior permission from its water supply department and undertake work in the presence of departmental representatives. Repairs to third-party damaged pipelines have already generated estimated water savings of 0.15 MLD.NMC has disconnected 176 illegal commercial water connections, saving an estimated 0.18 MLD, and plans to disconnect 24 more to save another 0.02 MLD. The civic body has also proposed punitive action against those found wasting water.The combined measures are projected to save 2.77 crore litres daily, or approximately 831 million litres over 30 days. However, the target will depend on effective implementation and the extent to which recycled water and groundwater replace potable supplies.The conservation drive comes amid growing concerns over the sustainability of the city’s water supply as storage in key reservoirs remains considerably below last year’s levels.TOTLADOH STORAGE PLUNGES TO 33.66%Totladoh reservoir, a major source of Nagpur’s water supply, held 342.27 million cubic metres (MCM) of live storage on Oct 31, equivalent to just 33.66% of its designed live storage capacity. On the corresponding date last year, storage stood at 93.75%.Khindsi is another reservoir showing a sharp decline, with live storage at 35.27% of capacity against 99.53% a year ago. Kamthi Khairi stood at 57.34%, compared with 74.36% last year, while Nand was at 71.53%, against full storage. Wadgaon was relatively better placed at 90.98%.LIVE STORAGE ON OCT 31, 2026Reservoir– Live storage (MCM)– Capacity filledTotladoh– 342.27– 33.66%Khindsi– 36.33– 35.27%Kamthi Khairy– 81.41– 57.34%Nand– 38.04– 71.53%Wadgaon– 122.73– 90.98%NMC’S WATER CONSERVATION SCORECARD108 pipeline leakages repaired152 third-party pipeline damage cases repaired176 illegal commercial connections disconnected75 vehicle washing centres targeted for switching to well water400 wells identified for greater use10 STPs proposed for recycled-water distributionWATER-SAVING TARGETSProposed measure– Estimated daily savingsReuse of treated sewage water– 20 MLDFeeder pipeline leakage repairs– 3 MLDGreater use of wells– 2 MLDAction against water wastage– 0.5 MLDVehicle washing centres switching to well water– 0.03 MLDPrevention of pipeline damage– 0.15 MLDDisconnection of illegal commercial connections– 0.02 MLD
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