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Nagpur's Water Crisis: Sewage Pollutes Backup Lake
19 Oct
Summary
- Sewage continues to enter Gorewada Lake, a vital backup water source.
- Reservoir storage is critically low, intensifying water scarcity concerns.
- Court directives and warnings have not stopped pollution of the lake.
Nagpur is grappling with severe water scarcity as sewage continues to contaminate Gorewada Lake, a crucial backup source for the city's drinking water. Despite a Bombay High Court order on June 23, 2026, directing the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to act, wastewater inflow persists.
This situation is particularly alarming as the combined live storage of five key reservoirs is alarmingly low. Totladoh, a primary drinking water source, holds only 42.59% of its capacity, compared to 98.76% last year. With all six districts in the Nagpur division declared drought-affected, protecting Gorewada Lake is paramount.
Previous reports in April 2026 highlighted similar issues, with TOI tracing polluted streams entering the lake and noting bacteriological contamination in water drawn from Gorewada Lake in 2025. Despite these findings and inspections, the pollution threat remains.
NMC has previously stated that water from Gorewada is treated as an emergency backup. However, the ongoing sewage discharge raises critical questions about the civic body's preparedness and adherence to directives aimed at safeguarding the city's water resources ahead of the summer of 2027.
