Amid rains, water level in India's main reservoirs rise for first time since September 2023

NEW DELHI: The Central Water Commission (CWC) has reported a slight increase in the water level of India's main reservoirs, marking the first rise since September last year. Despite a modest 2 per cent increase from the previous week, this change breaks the pattern of consistent weekly declines observed since the bulletin issued on September 29, 2023, when the storage capacity was at 73 per cent.The recent improvement coincides with widespread rainfall across the country.
The CWC, responsible for monitoring 150 reservoirs nationwide, released its latest bulletin on July 4. The bulletin, issued every Thursday, provides updates on the status of these reservoirs. Among the 150 reservoirs, 20 are dedicated to hydroelectric projects, with a total live storage capacity of 35.30 billion cubic meters (BCM).
As of July 4, the live storage available in these reservoirs was 39.729 BCM, representing 22 per cent of their total live storage capacity. Compared to the corresponding period last year, when the live storage was 50.422 BCM, and the normal storage level of 44.06 BCM, the current live storage is 79 per cent of last year's level and 90 per cent of the normal storage level.
The bulletin provided a regional breakdown of reservoir storage levels. The northern region, including Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan, has 10 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 19.663 BCM. The current storage is 5.39 BCM (27 per cent), compared to 45 per cent last year and a normal storage level of 31 per cent.
The eastern region, comprising Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, and Bihar, has 23 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 20.430 BCM. The current storage stands at 3.979 BCM (19 per cent), lower than the 20 per cent last year and the normal level of 23 per cent.
The western region, which includes Gujarat and Maharashtra, has 49 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 37.130 BCM. The storage is now at 7.949 BCM (21 per cent), compared to 27 per cent last year and a normal storage level of 22 per cent.
The central region, comprising Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, has 26 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 48.227 BCM. The current storage is 12.26 BCM (25 per cent), compared to 35 per cent last year and a normal storage level of 26 per cent.
The southern region, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, has 42 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 53.334 BCM. The storage is now at 10.152 BCM (19.03 per cent), down from 19.43 per cent last year and a normal level of 24 per cent.
The bulletin highlighted several key points, including the definition of normal storage as the average storage of the last 10 years. The overall storage position is less than both the corresponding period last year and the normal storage during the same period.
Better-than-normal storage is observed in regions such as Brahmaputra, Sabarmati, and the West Flowing Rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari, while close to normal storage is found in the Indus, Subarnarekha, Mahi, and other rivers. Deficient storage is reported in the Mahanadi, Cauvery, Brahmani, and Baitarni rivers, and highly deficient storage is seen in the East Flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari and other similar regions.
Specific reservoir data shows that 56 reservoirs have storage levels higher than last year, and 61 have more than the normal storage level. Conversely, 14 reservoirs have storage levels less than or equal to 20 per cent compared to last year, and eight reservoirs are similarly low compared to the normal storage. Furthermore, 40 reservoirs have storage levels less than or equal to 50 per cent of last year, with 29 reservoirs similarly low compared to the normal storage level.
States with better storage than last year include Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Kerala, while no states have equal storage to last year. States with lesser storage than last year include Rajasthan, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
According to the CWC's analysis, the total live storage available in the country is estimated to be 57.290 BCM against the total capacity of 257.812 BCM.