Amid a scorching summer, water levels in 150 key Indian reservoirs have plummeted to just 24% of their total capacity, which is a 21% decrease compared to the same period last year. Official data highlights this worrying trend, as detailed in the Central Water Commission's (CWC) recent weekly bulletin on the live storage status of these reservoirs.
The southern region of India, comprising Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, is particularly hard hit. The 42 reservoirs in this area, which collectively have a capacity of 53.334 billion cubic meters (BCM), currently hold only 7.455 BCM, representing a mere 14% of their total capacity. This is a stark decline from last year’s 25% and is significantly below the normal 20%.
Overall, the total live storage available in these 150 key reservoirs across India stands at 43.293 BCM, equating to 24% of their total live storage capacity. This figure represents a sharp 21% decrease from the 55.037 BCM recorded at the same time last year and falls below the ten-year average normal storage of 45.480 BCM. Currently, the storage is 79% of last year's levels and 95% of the ten-year average.
In the northern states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan, there are 10 monitored reservoirs with a combined live storage capacity of 19.663 BCM. Presently, they hold only 5.554 BCM, which is 28% of their capacity. This is a decline from last year's 37% and below the normal 31%.
Conversely, the eastern region, which includes Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, and Bihar, has shown a slight improvement. The 23 reservoirs here have a total capacity of 20.430 BCM, with current storage at 6.013 BCM, or 29%. This is better than last year's 26% and the normal 28%.
Gujarat and Maharashtra are also experiencing reduced storage levels compared to the previous year. The 49 reservoirs in these states, with a combined capacity of 37.130 BCM, currently hold 9.400 BCM (25%), down from last year's 29%, but slightly above the normal 24%.
The central states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh are facing similarly reduced storage levels. Their 26 reservoirs, with a total capacity of 48.227 BCM, currently hold 14.871 BCM (31%). This is lower than last year’s 38% but above the normal 29%.
Further analysis reveals significant variability in storage levels across different river basins. The Ganga, Subarnarekha, Brahmaputra, Barak, Brahmani, Baitarni, Narmada, Tapi, and Sabarmati basins are performing better than normal. However, the Krishna, east-flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari, and Cauvery basins are experiencing deficiencies. The east-flowing rivers between Mahanadi and Pennar are particularly highly deficient.
