Water in India's 91 major reservoirs at 63% of total storage capacity

The water storage available across 91 major reservoirs of the country for the week ending on August 23, 2018, was 101.286 billion cubic meters (BCM), which is 63 per cent of the total storage capacity of these reservoirs. Among the regions, reservoirs in South India have a higher quantity of water stored thanks to rains in Kerala and parts of Karnataka.      

The national average during the week ending August 16, 2018, was 52 per cent. The level of water storage in the week ending on August 23, 2018, was 128 per cent of the storage in the corresponding period of the last year and 107 per cent of the average of the past ten years.

The total storage capacity of these 91 reservoirs is 161.993 BCM, which is about 63 per cent of the total storage capacity of 257.812 BCM that is estimated to have been created in the country. Out of these 91 reservoirs, 37 have hydropower generation capability with an installed capacity of more than 60 Mw.   

The northern region includes Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. There are six reservoirs, which have a total live storage capacity of 18.01 BCM, being monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC). The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 11.22 BCM, which is 62 per cent of their total capacity. The storage during the corresponding period of the previous year was 82 per cent and the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period was 74 per cent of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Therefore, the storage during the current year is less than that of the corresponding period of the previous year and also less than the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period.  

The eastern region includes Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura. There are 15 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 18.83 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 12.26 BCM, which is 65 per cent of their total live storage capacity. The storage during the corresponding period of the previous year was 53 per cent and the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period was 51 per cent of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Therefore, the storage during the current year is better than that of the corresponding period of the previous year and also better than the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period. 

The western region includes Gujarat and Maharashtra. There are 27 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 31.26 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 14.15 BCM, which is 45 per cent of their total live storage capacity. The storage during the corresponding period of the previous year was 51 per cent and the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period was 54 per cent of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Therefore, the storage during the current year is less than the storage of the previous year and also less than the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period. 

The central region includes Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. There are 12 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 42.30 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 24.21 BCM, which is 57 per cent of their total live storage capacity. The storage during the corresponding period of the previous year was 53 per cent and the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period was 62 per cent of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Therefore, the storage during the current year is better than the storage of the previous year but is less than the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period. 

The southern region includes Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, along with two combined projects in both the states, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. There are 31 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 51.59 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 39.45 BCM, which is 76 per cent of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during the corresponding period of the previous year was 32 per cent and the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period was 56 per cent of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Therefore, the storage during the current year is better than that of the corresponding period of the previous year and also better than the average storage of the past ten years during the corresponding period.