Powai Lake

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Powai Lake
View of Powai lake
Location of Powai lake within Mumbai
Location of Powai lake within Mumbai
Powai Lake
LocationMumbai, Maharashtra
Coordinates19°08′N 72°55′E / 19.13°N 72.91°E / 19.13; 72.91
Catchment area6.61 km2 (2.55 sq mi)
Basin countriesIndia
Max. depth12 m (39 ft)
Surface elevation58.5 m (191.93 ft)
SettlementsPowai
The JVLR & Powai Lake as seen from the top of Emerald Isle, Powai
Powai Lake

Powai Lake (Pronunciation: [pəʋəiː]) is an artificial lake, situated in Mumbai, in the Powai valley, where a Powai village with a cluster of huts existed. The city suburb called Powai shares its name with the lake.

National Institute of Industrial Engineering
(NITIE), is also located close to the lake. Housing complexes and plush hotels are developed all around the lake periphery. Population around the lake has thus substantially increased over the years.

Powai Lake is located downstream of the Vihar Lake on the Mithi River

When it was built, the lake had an area of about 2.1 square kilometres (520 acres) and the depth varied from about 3 metres (9.8 ft) (at the periphery) to 12 metres (39 ft) at its deepest.[2]

The Powai Lake has gone through many stages of water quality degradation. The lake water which used to supply drinking water for Mumbai has been declared unfit to drink. The lake remains a tourist attraction.[3]

History

Before the lake was built by the

AD, the estate where the lake is now was leased on a yearly rent to Dr. Scott. After his death in 1816, the government took control of the estate in 1826 and leased it to Framaji Kavasji, then the vice-president of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Western India[4]
after whom the lake was named when it was built in 1891.

A stream tributary of the

Mithi river, which served the Powai village's water needs, was dammed in 1891, during the British period. It was initially to augment water supply to Bombay city (now called Mumbai), by constructing two dams of 10 m to store the rain water flowing from the lower slopes of the Western Ghats and streams from the eastern and northeastern slopes of hills.[5] It was planned as an antiwater famine measure, to the southeast of Vihar Lake (a much larger lake) also for water supply to Mumbai city.[6] The scheme was taken in hand in 1889. Though it was completed within a year at an initial cost of more than Rs. 6,50,000 and started providing two million gallons of water per day, it had to be abandoned due to the hue and cry against the quality of the water. Five lakhs of rupees more were spent on the scheme in 1919 in an attempt to restore the supply at least for the suburbs but this, too, was given up with the development of the Tansa works.[4]

After the drinking water supply objective was abandoned in the early 1890s, in view of poor quality of the water due to pollution,

quasi government organisation, who used it for fish culture and angling
. Later, the Bombay Presidency Angling Association was formed in 1936. In 1955, under the Societies Registration Act 1860, it was registered as the Maharashtra State Angling Association (MSAA) and the lake is now under their control. Realising the gravity of the environmental pollution, the MSAA has revised its constitution "to actively care for, clean, develop, maintain, and beautify the Environment at Powai Lake."

MSAA is now involved with

IIT Bombay
, in December 2012

Access

The lake is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from

Central Line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) of the Mumbai Suburban Railway is the nearest railway station to the lake. The airport is also nearby.[8]

Hydrology and water quality

Powai Lake Mumbai overflowing after rains of 26 and 27 July 2005

It is reported that the average rainfall at Powai is about 2,540 millimetres (100 in), and the lake overflows for about sixty days each year. The overflow from the lake flows into the

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level at the bottom of the lake is reported to be 0.71 mg/litre and at surface 4.11 mg/litre, average value of pH is 7.2 and COD is 42.70 mg/litre on the surface and 119 mg/litre at the bottom of the lake.[10]

Lake rejuvenation

Appreciating the problem of silting, growth of water hyacinth, weed, and eutrophication of the lake, the IIT Bombay's Class of 1980 launched a "Revitalization of Powai Lake" with the objective of restoring the lake to its original pristine and sustainable form by adopting Eco-friendly designs and materials for the restoration works.[11]

Some of the tasks proposed to be undertaken with the funds donated by IIT, Bombay included:

  • Removing water hyacinth and weeds from the lake in parts nearest to the campus
  • Starting a publicity and an awareness program in the area
  • Building embankments, walkways and pathways to the lake
  • Constructing a large gazebo for an evening (or morning or afternoon) by the lake
  • Planting trees, and creating a garden
  • Installing docks, deploying boats and canoes
  • Allocating funds for annual maintenance

The project was proposed to be professionally managed with a project manager working under directives of IIT Bombay with an "Oversight Committee" to monitor objectives set for the restoration work.

In 1995, the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) of the

mesotrophic condition by adopting a novel technique of aeration and bioremediation
. This has resulted in the lake being used for fishing and recreational purposes.

Desilting project

The Lake's water depth is reported to have reduced to as little as 0.33 metres (1.1 ft) at some locations, on account of the large inflow of sewage, domestic waste water and silt from surrounding residential and industrial areas.[6]

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has therefore plans to desilt the Powai Lake at a cost of US$9 million.[12]

Fauna

Many crocodiles have been seen on the lake side.[13]

Eurasian marsh harrier (possibly winter visitor), woolly-necked stork (winter visitor) hoopoe and whiskered terns
.
bumble bees and beetles have also been sighted.[14]

Flora

Balsam bushes, in their full bloom, in pink-purple color are seen around the lake periphery, like a carpet.[15]

Powai Lake views

  • Powai Lake
    Powai Lake
  • Powai Lake - Before Heavy Showers of Rain
    Powai Lake - Before Heavy Showers of Rain
  • Powai Lake - After Heavy Showers of Rain
    Powai Lake - After Heavy Showers of Rain
  • Powai lake in night. Picture take from JVLR side
    Powai lake in night. Picture take from JVLR side

References

  1. ^ "Powai lake". Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "History Of Powai Lake". Members.tripod.com. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Mumbai Hotels: Mumbai Tourist Attractions: Powai Lake". Bombay-mumbai-hotels.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Greater Bombay Places - Powai Lake". Maharashtra State Gazetteers. 1987. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Powai Lake One of the lakes supplying water to Mumbai". 19.126923;72.90287: Satellite-sightseer.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ^ a b "A design for echo sustainability: lessons from a stressed environment in Mumbai" (PDF). Grassrootsresearch.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Powai Lake". Mumbainet.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Hiranandani Gardens – 1 BHK and 2 BHK Flats / Apartments | Residential Project in Powai, Mumbai".
  9. ^ "Powai Lake: Information from Answers.com". Answers.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Envis". Envis.maharashtra.gov. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  11. ^ [1] Archived 11 December 2007 at archive.today
  12. ^ [2] Archived 11 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ [3] Archived 30 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Monsoon Magic at IIT 17-08-2008". Flickr.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  15. ^ [4] Archived 19 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine

External links

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