For 11th week in a row, Indian reservoirs’ storage declines

The storage in the 150 major Indian reservoirs continued to be below 10 years average with 30 of them having levels below 40 per cent of capacity, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) show.

According to CWC’s weekly bulletin of live storage, the impact of the recent cyclone Michaung and heavy rains due to cyclonic circulation in peninsular India have helped to some extent. However, the level was low for the 11th week in a row. 

As of December 21, the water level in the 150 reservoirs was 110.943 billion cubic metres (BCM), which is 62 per cent of the total live capacity of 178.784 BCM. This is 18 percentage points lower than last year’s level and 32 percentage points down against the last 10 years average. 

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AP worrisome

The storage in 10 States is lower than normal with the situation in Andhra Pradesh being the most worrisome. The level in the southern State is 41 per cent below normal, though better than 50 per cent below normal last week.

The situation is of concern particularly for standing rabi crops. One solace for farmers is that December has seen good rains across the country resulting in good soil moisture. However, lack of proper irrigation facilities in the South could impact key crops such as paddy and pulses. As of December 20, 45 per cent of the 713 districts from where the Indian Meteorological Department got data is rain deficient during the post-monsoon period starting October 1. 

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Apart from 30 of the 150 major reservoirs having a storage below 40 per cent of capacity, the level in 15 is between 41 and 50 per cent. Six reservoirs are filled to capacity, while the storage in another nine is between 91 and 99 per cent. 

South’s grim situation

The northern and western regions are the ones which have seen the storages in reservoirs drop more than the others with the situation remaining unchanged in the southern region.

The CWC’s  bulletin said the 10 reservoirs in the northern region were filled to 63 per cent (66% last week) of capacity at 12.329 BCM. No reservoir had a level above 90 per cent or below 40 per cent of capacity.  

In the western region, the level was 74 per cent (77%) of capacity at 27.456 BCM. Of the 49 reservoirs in the region, one is filled to capacity, while three have a level 30 per cent below capacity. The level in three reservoirs is below 40 per cent of capacity. 

The 42 reservoirs in the southern region were filled 42 per cent (unchanged) of the capacity at 22.303 BCM. In real terms, the storage increased dipped from 22.357 BCM with the level in Telangana dropping by one percentage point. A majority of the reservoirs - 19 - which have storage below 40 per cent of capacity are in the region. 

More dip likely

In the central region, the storage in 26 reservoirs was 71 per cent (73%) of capacity at 34.318 BCM. While one reservoir was filled to capacity, nine had levels below 40 per cent. 

The eastern region was the only one where the level was higher than last year as also the 10-year average. The 23 reservoirs were filled to 71 per cent (71.6%) to capacity at 14.537 BCM. Last year, the storage  was 68 per cent and the last 10 year’s level has been 70 per cent. Three reservoirs are filled to capacity with no storage being below 40 per cent. 

With no rain being forecast over the next few days, the level will likely drop further next week.

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