Mumbai: The scenic Powai Lake in Mumbai overflowed on Wednesday morning following heavy rains in its catchment areas for the last two days, a civic official said.

Its water is not potable and is used only for industrial purposes.

Having a storage capacity of 545 crore litres, the lake started overflowing at 6 am, the official said.

“The lake has reached its capacity and started overflowing due to heavy rainfall in its catchment areas over the past two days,” the official said, adding the water level was at 195.10 feet.

The water body, a popular recreation spot surrounded by greenery and high-rises in Powai area, has started overflowing 20 days earlier compared to last year.

When the lake is full, the water area is around 2.23 square kilometres, while the catchment area is 6.61 sq km.

Located 27 km from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, the Powai Lake was built in 1890 at a cost of Rs 12.59 lakh.

Seven reservoirs, namely Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Vihar and Tulsi, supply 385 crore litres of potable water to the megapolis.