The storage level in the 150 major Indian reservoirs declined for the 13th week to below 60 per cent of the capacity with the situation in South India turning precarious.

Data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) weekly bulletin  showed that the level in the southern region dropped to 40 per cent  or 21.129 billion cubic metres (BCM) of the 53.334 BCM capacity.  

Overall, the 150 reservoirs level was 105.273 BCM or 59 per cent of the 178.784 BCM capacity. This is 22 percentage points lower than last year and 35 per cent points lower than the last 10 years’ average. 

33 below 40% of capacity

 Of the major reservoirs, 33 (32 last week) have a level below 40 per cent of capacity with the southern region accounting for 18 and the central region 8. Ten States have storage lower than normal, with the situation turning a little dicey in Punjab, where the level is 38 per cent below normal this week (29% below normal last week). 

The storage level continued to be grim despite the country receiving 60 per cent excess rainfall in December. Some of the reservoirs are reaping the benefits of the rainfall with the levels in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka improving to 23 per cent (26 per cent) and 36 per cent (38 per cent) below normal, respectively.

Overall, 50 per cent of 21 of the 42 reservoirs in the southern region had storage of less than 50 per cent of the capacity. Last week, the level in 22 reservoirs was lower than 50 per cent.

No reservoir full in North

Of the 10 reservoirs in the northern region, the level dropped to 57 per cent (59 per cent) of the 19.663 BCM at 11.150 BCM. While the storage in one was below 40 per cent, no reservoir was filled to capacity.

In the eastern region, three of the 23 reservoirs were filled to capacity with the level being 69 per cent (70 per cent) of the 20.430 BCM capacity at 14.127 BCM. This was higher than 65 per cent of the capacity a year ago as also the last 10 years’ average. However, three reservoirs had storage below 40 per cent.

In the western region, the storage dropped to 71 per cent (72 per cent) of the 37.130 BCM capacity at 26.337 BCM. One reservoir was filled to capacity, while three had storage below 40 per cent. 

Source of worry

Of the 26 reservoirs in the central region, the level was 32.530 BCM of 67 per cent (69 per cent) of the 48.227 BCM capacity. No reservoir in the region had water level above 81 per cent, while in four the storage was less than 50 per cent. 

The current storage level is a source of worry for rabi crops, especially in the South. In the North, irrigation canals will help provide water for key crops such as wheat and coarse cereals. However, the availability of water in the southern regions for paddy and pulses will likely become a problem.

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