Thane: After a state report revealed that the underground water springs were fast drying up, experts have cautioned the authorities to take action to prevent an imminent water crisis in the urban parts of Thane district, including Kalyan, Thane city and parts of Navi Mumbai.The city has nearly 1,075 borewells and 500 wells that are a great source of water supply. The observation wells at Kopri, Thane, Ghodbunder, Shilphata, Koparkhairane in Navi Mumbai are some areas in urban Thane that have registered a drop of 0.5m to 0.80m in water levels. “These wells are connected to springs and are a major source of water supply but the stock is depleting,” said experts. If the problem is not tackled soon then it could lead to drying up of the springs, which can lead to empty taps in summer and also barren land in the next few years.Civic officials have said the water levels in reservoirs has already reduced and the irrigation department is hinting at increasing water cuts in the next few months. This means that the dependency on these alternate sources will increase.Activists and experts are now appealing to the district administration to take stock of the situation and take corrective steps by either curbbing digging up of new bores or restrict the suction of the underground water reserves to prevent a crisis-like situation in the coming months. “The drop in the water levels at the end of monsoon is worrisome. This could spell trouble for residents in summer. The administration must immediately take steps to ensure that the stock is not depleted further and there is enough stock to rely on during the arid months from March onwards,” said an activist Ajay Marathe.Many have also suggested increasing soil cover in the district, especially in urban areas to ensure and allow more percolation of water in the ground. “The drop in underground water levels could mainly be because of less percolation of water in the soil. The need of the hour is to improve consevation and encourage percolation of ground water by increasing soil cover,” said activist V Walavalkar.

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