HYDERABAD: In a rare and worrying trend, Hyderabad is witnessing a higher demand for water tankers during the monsoon than in the peak summer months, underlining the impact of the rainfall deficit triggered by El Nino.Data from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board shows that residents booked 1.7 lakh tankers in March, 2.3 lakh in April and 3.1 lakh in May.Instead of easing with the arrival of the monsoon, demand climbed to 2.9 lakh in June, which is 91% of peak summer bookings.The trend has continued into July, with the average number of tanker bookings remaining higher than those recorded in March and April.In the first week of July, the water board supplied nearly 60,000 tankers.Apartment complexes have emerged as the biggest consumers of tanker water this year.Their dependence has tripled, with bookings rising from 4,000 in 2025 to 12,000 in 2026, reflectingmounting stress on groundwater resources and poor aquifer recharge due to deficient rainfall.While localities such as Ayyappa Society, Kukatpally, SR Nagar and Jubilee Hills have traditionally recorded high tanker demand, water board officials said bookings have risen this year from Uppal, LB Nagar and Malkajgiri during June and July.
“Rapid urbanisation has increased water demand, with multi-storey apartment buildings replacing individual houses on the same plots.In many areas, the existing pipeline network is no longer adequate to meet the needs of the growing population.We are upgrading pipelines, reservoirs, valves and internal distribution networks in phases based on population growth, water demand and technical requirements,” HMWSSB managing director K Ashok Reddy said.Calling tanker supply only a temporary solution, Ashok Reddy urged apartment associations to conduct water audits, plug leakages, adopt rainwater harvesting and convert abandoned borewells into recharge pits to reduce dependence on tanker water.
