Tulsi Lake

Tulsi Lake is a fresh water lake in northern Mumbai. It is stated to be the second largest lake in Mumbai and supplies part of the city’s potable water. This is one of the three lakes located in the Salsette Island; the other two being Powai Lake and Vihar Lake. Both Tulsi lake and Vihar lake are located within the densely forested Sanjay Gandhi National Park or also known popularly as the Borivali National Park (BNP).HydrologyTulsi Lake was built by damming the River Tasso, and redirecting the flow to the nearby Vihar Lake. Rain water from the catchment area of 676 hectares of Powai-Kanheri hill ranges drains into the lake. During the rainy season the flood flows out flows into the Powai Lake and further down into the Mithi River. The maximum height of hill in the catchment is about 400 m. The southwest monsoon sets in by mid June and lasts till September. The maximum rainfall is normally recorded in the months of July and August. The mean annual rainfall is reported to be 2500 mm.The plan to create the lake was conceived in 1872 and construction completed 1897. It was designed as a backup for the Vihar Lake to supply portable drinking water to the city of Bombay (now Mumbai). The lake has surface area of 1.35 km² (135 hectares). The average water depth is reported to be 12 m with a gross storage at Full Supply Level (FSL) of 2294e6impgal, out of which 4e6impgal per day are supplied to Greater Mumbai.