Relief for Pune Residents: Water Leakage Reduces, Overall Demand Drops for 2025-26
Pune, 18th July 2025: In a significant development for Pune city, water leakage levels have declined and overall water demand has dropped for the upcoming financial year, offering some relief amid growing concerns over urban water management.
According to data shared by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), water leakage has reduced from 40% to 32%, thanks to the measures implemented under the ‘Uniform Water Supply Scheme’. The city, which is primarily supplied water from Khadakwasla, Bhama Askhed, and Ravet dams, has long grappled with high leakage losses—especially from the Khadakwasla project, the city’s primary source.
As per the newly prepared water budget for 2025–26, leakage losses have been calculated at 6.73 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) — a drop of nearly 1.5 TMC from last year’s leakage of 7.52 TMC, which stood at 35%.
Drop in Total Water Demand
The city’s total water demand for the upcoming fiscal year has been pegged at 21.03 TMC, a marginal decrease from 21.48 TMC in 2024–25. This reduction of 0.45 TMC comes even as the population served by PMC is expected to rise from 81.64 lakh to 84.64 lakh.
Breakdown of Water Usage (in TMC):
Regular consumption: 11.34
Tanker supply: 0.193
Direct water supply: 1.23
Water for non-networked villages: 0.975
Floating population (3.88 lakh): 0.175
Commercial use: 0.342
Leakage: 6.73
Total demand: 21.03 TMC
Last year, the Irrigation Department approved 14.82 TMC of water for Pune. The PMC is now finalizing its budget proposal for this year, which will be submitted by the end of July, following approval and signature from Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram.
