Akola gets tap water only every 11th day as Katepurna dam falls to 16% storage
Akola city's water supply has been cut to every 10 days from October 4, 2026, after poor rain left the Katepurna project with just 16 per cent storage.
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Rainfall has been very low this year, creating drought-like conditions across the state. Akola district is also feeling the heat. The projects that supply the city and the district have very little water left, forcing the administration to impose water cuts as early as the winter season. Akola city is now getting water every 10 days, and rural areas show much the same picture with minor differences.
The Katepurna project, which supplies the city, is at Mahan in Barshitakli tehsil. It has only 16 per cent storage left. For this reason, the municipal corporation decided to supply water after a gap of 10 days. Storage in the Katepurna dam is falling visibly by the day. Earlier, water was supplied after a gap of seven days, that is, on the eighth day. From October 4, 2026, this has been changed to a gap of 10 days, that is, the 11th day.
Rain was absent right from the start of the season, so reservoirs did not collect as much water as they should have. Most projects in the district are less than half full. Last year, water had to be released two or three times from the Katepurna project, but this time it has only 16 per cent water left. The shadow of a water shortage has deepened, and the administration is scrambling to find remedies.
In the city, water is distributed from water tanks. In the original city limits, the Mahajani, Mothi Umri, Gudhdhi, Nehru Park, Toshniwal, Adarsh Colony, Keshav Nagar, Railway Station, Ganga Nagar, Akot Fail, Joglekar Plot and Lokmanya Nagar tanks supply Malkapur, Shivapur, Khadki, Shivar, Umri, Gudhdhi, New Tapadia Nagar, Hingna, Somthana, Geeta Nagar, Ganga Nagar, Ayodhya Nagar, Mehre Nagar, Gajanan Nagar, Ashray Nagar and Dabki. In the areas added after the limits were expanded, water is supplied from the Shiv Nagar, Ashray Nagar, Bus Stand and Shivani tanks.
Residents are struggling. Preeti Deshmukh of Junesheher, Akola, says that for the past few days tap water has been coming only on the 11th day, after a gap of 10 days, which is causing difficulty. She asks where drinking water can be stored for 10 days. Even so, she meets her drinking water needs by storing water as best she can.
