New Delhi, Amid heavy rains across India, the water level of the country's major reservoirs has risen for the first time since September last year, the Central Water Commission (CWC) said.
Despite the marginal 2 percent increase from the previous week, this marks a departure from the consistent weekly decline reported since the bulletin issued on September 29, 2023, when storage capacity stood at 73 percent, according to the data analysis.
This improvement comes amid widespread rains across the country. The CWC, which monitors the status of active storage of 150 reservoirs across India, published its latest bulletin detailing these developments on July 4.
The CWC publishes a weekly bulletin every Thursday, providing updates on the status of these reservoirs.
According to the bulletin, of the 150 reservoirs, 20 are dedicated to hydropower projects, with a total live storage capacity of 35.30 billion cubic meters (MMC). The CWC bulletin on July 4 said that live storage available in these reservoirs was 39,729 BCM, representing 22 percent of their total live storage capacity.
In comparison, the available heap during the same period last year was 50,422 BCM, with a normal storage level of 44.06 BCM.
This indicates that the current live storage is 79 percent of the corresponding period of last year and 90 percent of the normal storage level, the CWC said. The northern region, comprising Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, has 10 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 19,663 BCM.
Current storage is 5.39 BCM (27 percent), compared to 45 percent during the same period last year and a normal storage level of 31 percent.
The eastern region, which includes 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 percent), versus to 20 percent from last year and a normal level of 23 percent.
The western region, which includes Gujarat and Maharashtra, has 49 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 37,130 BCM. Storage now stands at 7,949 BCM (21 percent), up from 27 percent last year and a normal storage level of 22 percent.
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 percent), compared to 35 percent from last year and a normal storage level of 26 percent.
The southern region, which includes Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, has 42 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 53,334 BCM.
Storage now stands at 10,152 BCM (19.03 percent), up from 19.43 percent last year and a normal level of 24 percent. The bulletin highlighted several key points: Normal storage is defined as storage average of the last 10 years.
The total storage position is lower 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 rivers flowing west from Tadri to Kanyakumari. Near normal storage is found in Indus, Subarnarekha, Mahi and other rivers. Poor storage is reported in Mahanadi, Cauvery, Brahmani and Baitarni rivers. Very poor storage is observed in the east-flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari and other similar regions.
In terms of specific reservoir data, 56 reservoirs have storage levels higher than last year and 61 have storage levels above normal.
In contrast, 14 reservoirs have storage levels less than or equal to 20 percent compared to last year, and eight reservoirs are equally low compared to normal storage. In addition, 40 reservoirs have storage levels less than or equal to 50 percent from last year, and 29 reservoirs have similarly low storage levels compared to the normal storage level.
States with better storage than last year include Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Kerala. There are no states with the same storage as last year.
States with lower 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 analysis, storage total dynamic capacity available in the country is estimated at 57,290 BCM compared to a total capacity of 257,812 BCM.
Despite the marginal 2 percent increase from the previous week, this marks a departure from the consistent weekly decline reported since the bulletin issued on September 29, 2023, when storage capacity stood at 73 percent, according to the data analysis.
This improvement comes amid widespread rains across the country. The CWC, which monitors the status of active storage of 150 reservoirs across India, published its latest bulletin detailing these developments on July 4.
The CWC publishes a weekly bulletin every Thursday, providing updates on the status of these reservoirs.
According to the bulletin, of the 150 reservoirs, 20 are dedicated to hydropower projects, with a total live storage capacity of 35.30 billion cubic meters (MMC). The CWC bulletin on July 4 said that live storage available in these reservoirs was 39,729 BCM, representing 22 percent of their total live storage capacity.
In comparison, the available heap during the same period last year was 50,422 BCM, with a normal storage level of 44.06 BCM.
This indicates that the current live storage is 79 percent of the corresponding period of last year and 90 percent of the normal storage level, the CWC said. The northern region, comprising Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, has 10 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 19,663 BCM.
Current storage is 5.39 BCM (27 percent), compared to 45 percent during the same period last year and a normal storage level of 31 percent.
The eastern region, which includes 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 percent), versus to 20 percent from last year and a normal level of 23 percent.
The western region, which includes Gujarat and Maharashtra, has 49 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 37,130 BCM. Storage now stands at 7,949 BCM (21 percent), up from 27 percent last year and a normal storage level of 22 percent.
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 percent), compared to 35 percent from last year and a normal storage level of 26 percent.
The southern region, which includes Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, has 42 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 53,334 BCM.
Storage now stands at 10,152 BCM (19.03 percent), up from 19.43 percent last year and a normal level of 24 percent. The bulletin highlighted several key points: Normal storage is defined as storage average of the last 10 years.
The total storage position is lower 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 rivers flowing west from Tadri to Kanyakumari. Near normal storage is found in Indus, Subarnarekha, Mahi and other rivers. Poor storage is reported in Mahanadi, Cauvery, Brahmani and Baitarni rivers. Very poor storage is observed in the east-flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari and other similar regions.
In terms of specific reservoir data, 56 reservoirs have storage levels higher than last year and 61 have storage levels above normal.
In contrast, 14 reservoirs have storage levels less than or equal to 20 percent compared to last year, and eight reservoirs are equally low compared to normal storage. In addition, 40 reservoirs have storage levels less than or equal to 50 percent from last year, and 29 reservoirs have similarly low storage levels compared to the normal storage level.
States with better storage than last year include Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Kerala. There are no states with the same storage as last year.
States with lower 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 analysis, storage total dynamic capacity available in the country is estimated at 57,290 BCM compared to a total capacity of 257,812 BCM.
