THE SHORT ANSWER
A drought-ready housing society knows which water sources it can actually rely on, how much usable water it has, what it withdraws, when replenishment is expected, and who will act if the plan changes.
The most useful preparation is a verified water budget plus an operational response plan. Do not wait until the rooftop tank is nearly empty to discover that the next municipal supply window is uncertain or the backup tanker supplier cannot deliver.
This checklist is designed for committee members, facility managers and engineering teams. It does not assume that a statewide drought declaration means every society has the same local restrictions or supply conditions.
START WITH THE TEN-STAGE JOURNEY
Supply → Storage → Consumption → Water Balance → Forecasting → Loss Detection → Tanker Planning → Pump Operations → Resident Communication → Drought Readiness.
Use the checks below in that order. Mark each item “verified,” “in progress,” “not applicable,” or “unknown,” and name the person responsible. An unverified assumption is not the same as a completed check.
1. SUPPLY — KNOW WHAT CAN ARRIVE
[ ] List each relevant water source: municipal connection, permitted borewell, contracted tanker or other authorized source.
[ ] Record which water service each source supplies; keep drinking, domestic and treated recycled-water systems distinct.
[ ] Identify how incoming quantity is measured and whether the latest figure is measured, estimated or unknown.
[ ] Record normal supply windows and any verified changes, rather than relying on historical schedules alone.
[ ] Verify the responsible utility or supplier contact and the latest known status.
[ ] Record dependencies that could interrupt delivery, including upstream pumping, power or supplier availability where documented.
[ ] Verify current local orders and restrictions with the responsible authority before changing operations.
Why it matters: “Water was expected today” is not equivalent to “water entered the society.” A booked tanker or scheduled municipal supply is a scenario until delivery is confirmed.
2. STORAGE — COUNT USABLE WATER, NOT NOMINAL CAPACITY
[ ] Inventory every relevant underground and overhead tank and any separately managed compartments.
[ ] Confirm tank identity, service, internal dimensions, shape, measurement reference and normal withdrawal arrangement.
[ ] Record the usable-water limit or dead-water height and its verification source.
[ ] Establish a consistent timestamp for current storage readings.
[ ] Sum verified usable litres only within the appropriate water-service and hydraulic boundary.
[ ] Check whether transfer constraints make some stored water temporarily unavailable to a particular tower or service.
TownEve allows tank dimensions and dead-water height to be entered in its dashboard. Its tank-specific level-to-volume calculation uses the configured geometry rather than assuming that tanks of different sizes or shapes are interchangeable. The configured unusable portion can be excluded from usable-water calculations.
This supports accurate tank-specific volume calculations when the entered geometry and measured level are valid. Geometry configuration does not remove the need to validate sensor installation and readings.
3. CONSUMPTION — ESTABLISH A DEFENSIBLE BASELINE
[ ] Use reliable measured outgoing volumes where available.
[ ] If measurement is unavailable, document occupancy, litres-per-person assumptions and separately accounted common-area uses.
[ ] Keep residential, common-area and different water-service requirements distinct.
[ ] Compare the baseline with available historical supply and storage records.
[ ] Record how demand may change during a supply interruption or approved conservation measures.
[ ] Identify which uses or services require separate operational or regulatory treatment.
An occupancy-based estimate is useful for planning but is not a measured consumption figure. Tank-level change alone is a net storage observation when inflow and outflow occur simultaneously.
4. WATER BALANCE — RECONCILE THE NUMBERS
[ ] Define the accounting boundary and the same cutoff period for all records.
[ ] Record external supply separately by source.
[ ] Record opening and closing usable storage.
[ ] Record independently measured outflow where available; otherwise label any derived withdrawal as implied or estimated.
[ ] Exclude underground-to-overhead transfers from a property-wide external inflow total.
[ ] Investigate unexplained differences without automatically labeling them leaks.
For a defined boundary:
Opening storage + external inflow − external outflow ± documented adjustments = closing storage.
A missing reading must remain “unknown,” not silently become zero.
5. FORECASTING — CALCULATE CONDITIONAL RUNWAY
[ ] Choose a documented operational response reserve for each relevant service.
[ ] Calculate no-replenishment runway using current usable storage and a stated withdrawal scenario.
[ ] Model the timing of expected municipal supply and tanker arrivals, not just their average daily quantity.
[ ] Include lower, baseline and higher demand scenarios where uncertainty is material.
[ ] Check whether a threshold could be crossed before the next delivery.
[ ] Record the last valid observation time, assumptions and next review time.
No-replenishment runway = usable water ÷ assumed daily withdrawal.
For illustration, 90 kL of usable water at an assumed 30 kL/day gives three days to modeled zero without replenishment. It is not a guarantee of uninterrupted tap service. A transfer failure can affect overhead supply before property-wide stored volume reaches zero.
6. LOSS DETECTION — INVESTIGATE, DO NOT ASSUME
[ ] Review abnormal level trends or unexplained reconciliation differences.
[ ] Check measurement timestamps, units, tank configuration and meter status first.
[ ] Check for unrecorded transfers or legitimate operating uses.
[ ] Arrange an authorized physical inspection when the evidence warrants it.
[ ] Record findings and corrective action without assigning an unverified cause.
An unexpected tank trend is a signal to investigate. It does not by itself quantify leakage, identify a specific pipe fault or prove misuse.
7. TANKER PLANNING — VERIFY CAPACITY, TIMING AND COST
[ ] Identify primary and backup suppliers and verify their current ability to serve the property.
[ ] Record contact details, order lead time, delivery windows, access constraints and service suitability.
[ ] Calculate the supplemental volume needed under a stated demand and reserve scenario.
[ ] Distinguish booked, invoiced and verified received tanker volumes.
[ ] Record destination tank, delivery time, volume evidence and actual charges.
[ ] Confirm contingency action if a scheduled delivery is delayed or smaller than expected.
A basic planning equation is:
Supplemental volume = projected demand + desired closing reserve − opening usable storage − expected non-tanker supply.
Use a zero floor when the arithmetic produces a negative shortfall; do not order a negative volume. The estimate must be checked against timing and available delivery sizes.
Record the actual supplier quote and verify received volume separately from the tanker's stated capacity.
8. PUMP OPERATIONS — CHECK THE TRANSFER PATH
[ ] Document which underground tanks supply which overhead tanks.
[ ] Identify authorized staff who can inspect pumps, electrical supply, valves and transfer controls.
[ ] Verify the escalation path for an overhead tank that is falling while underground storage remains available.
[ ] Record maintenance and power dependencies that affect transfer reliability.
[ ] Establish a safe, approved operating procedure; do not improvise electrical or confined-space work.
TownEve's current tank-level visibility and historical trends can help reveal a pattern requiring investigation. They do not directly establish pump electrical state or provide released automatic pump protection.
Direct pump-state monitoring is in development; remote pump operation is in development and testing.
9. RESIDENT COMMUNICATION — REPORT VERIFIED CONDITIONS
[ ] Identify who approves society-wide updates.
[ ] Prepare a factual notice format for the affected water service and towers.
[ ] Distinguish confirmed conditions from estimated runway and unverified delivery times.
[ ] Explain actions underway and give the next update time.
[ ] Use an accessible communication channel for residents and an escalation route for urgent needs.
[ ] Check current authority directions before describing restrictions or permissible uses.
A useful notice says what is known, what the facility team is doing, and when the next verified update will arrive. Avoid dramatic countdowns or claims that all water is exhausted when only one overhead service is affected.
10. DROUGHT READINESS — TURN THE CHECKLIST INTO AN OPERATING PLAN
[ ] Assign one owner for the daily water balance and a backup.
[ ] Set review frequency and response thresholds appropriate to the property.
[ ] Confirm supplier and facility-team contact trees.
[ ] Verify source permissions, applicable local restrictions and the current authority notices.
[ ] Approve the process for changing operating practices and informing residents.
[ ] Conduct a tabletop review of a delayed municipal supply, missed tanker and transfer failure.
[ ] Review the plan after an incident, major equipment change or supply-policy update.
The goal is a repeatable process, not a one-time checklist that becomes obsolete.
A ONE-PAGE COMMITTEE READINESS SUMMARY
For each water service, report:
Service and included tanks:
Last verified storage timestamp:
Current usable storage (kL):
External supply received in the last accounting period, by source:
Measured or estimated daily withdrawal and its basis:
Chosen response reserve (kL):
Modeled no-replenishment runway to reserve:
Next confirmed supply:
Next expected but unconfirmed supply:
Operational transfer constraints:
Unresolved discrepancy or incident:
Current local direction verified against:
Responsible person:
Next review time:
A blank or unknown field is an action item, not a reason to invent a number.
HOW TO USE THE CHECKLIST IN PUNE AND PCMC
Begin with the property's actual supply records and the current notices from the relevant municipal, water-supply and disaster-management authorities. Check whether the building's source is municipal, tanker, borewell or a combination and whether restrictions apply to that particular source or locality.
Regional rainfall, reservoir and groundwater reporting provides context, but it does not by itself prove that a particular society will run out of water or that a specific restriction applies to its residents.
When a regional development affects the property, record the date, verified source, operational implications and actions to review in the society's readiness plan.
WHERE TOWNEVE FITS
TownEve currently offers contactless ultrasonic level monitoring for suitable underground and overhead tanks, current and historical tank-level visibility, configured email alerts, telemetry-freshness monitoring, and tank-specific usable-volume calculations based on configured dimensions and dead-water height.
These capabilities give societies a live storage and historical visibility layer for drought readiness. Source quantities, tanker receipts, consumption and pump condition use the corresponding operational records, controlled methods or instrumentation appropriate to each question.
The broader roadmap progressively connects supply inputs, tanker records, pump information and consumption estimation. Direct pump-state monitoring is in development; remote pump operation is in development and testing; tanker workflows are in development; flow-meter instrumentation is a future layer.
Deployment planning starts with the current monitoring layer and the site's verified operating records.
FAQ
What is the first step in drought preparedness for a society?
Verify each water source, current usable storage, demand baseline and responsible operator. Then build a water balance.
How much emergency water should a society store?
There is no universal percentage. The choice depends on actual demand, supply reliability, replenishment lead times, usable capacity and operational constraints.
Can a society use nominal tank capacity to estimate its runway?
No. Use current usable water in the relevant service, accounting for dead-water height and transfer constraints.
Does a low overhead tank mean underground storage is empty?
Not necessarily. The transfer system and underground levels need separate verification.
How should tanker requirements be calculated?
Estimate the shortfall over the planning period after accounting for usable opening storage, expected non-tanker supply, projected demand and a chosen closing reserve.
Does a tank-level graph prove water leakage?
No. It can reveal an unexpected pattern but cannot independently determine its cause.
Are statewide drought announcements the same as a local water restriction?
No. Check the current applicable directions from the responsible authority.
Can TownEve automatically forecast a guaranteed shortage date?
No released end-to-end forecasting guarantee is claimed. Its verified storage monitoring can supply a useful input to a separately documented scenario.