Water Storage

Amid heavy rains across India, the water level of the country's main reservoirs has risen for the first time since September last year, the Central Water Commission (CWC) said. Despite the marginal rise of 2 per cent from the previous week, this marks a departure from the consistent week-on-week decline reported since the bulletin issued on September 29, 2023, when the storage capacity stood at 73 per cent, according to the analysis of the data. This improvement comes amid widespread rainfall across the country. The CWC, which monitors the live storage status of 150 reservoirs across India, released its latest bulletin detailing these developments on July 4. The CWC issues a weekly bulletin every Thursday, providing updates on the status of these reservoirs. According to the bulletin, out of the 150 reservoirs, 20 are dedicated to hydroelectric projects, with a total live storage capacity of 35.30 billion cubic meters (BCM). The CWC bulletin on July 4 said the live storage availa

A level below 1,700 cubic meters indicates water stress, with 1,000 cubic meters being the threshold for water scarcity, according to the govt

Tech professionals are leaving India's IT hub of Bengaluru amid an intensifying drought that has gripped the city as it sweats through another torrid pre-monsoon season

Disposal of debris along fragile slopes, unplanned drainage system and unscientific excavation of hills are the reasons behind the immense damage in Himachal Pradesh's capital city Shimla during the recent incessant rains as per the preliminary assessment, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena said on Monday. Saxena, who presided over a meeting with the team constituted to review the damage, said Shimla received 552.1 mm of rain in August this year as compared to 514.30 mm in the corresponding period in 2022. He said to reduce the risks related to disasters, special attention should be paid to well-planned construction with proper drainage system as unplanned buildings and diversion of waterways due to choked drains did the maximum damage. He said emphasis should also be laid on safely disposing of the muck excavated during the construction. The senior official asserted that there should be a thorough assessment of disaster sensitive areas of the hill state and emphasis should also be lai

India has committed investments of more than 240 billion dollars in the water sector and is implementing the largest dam rehabilitation programme in the world as well as efforts to restore groundwater level, Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the UN. Shekhawat highlighted the ambitious programmes and efforts being undertaken in India towards ensuring water security and achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 of clean water and sanitation for all as he addressed the UN Water Conference 2023 Thursday. We have committed investments of more than 240 billion dollars in the water sector through government resources, in partnership with private innovators, start-ups, and water-user associations. India is implementing two flagship missions to ensure universal access to sanitation and drinking water, Shekhawat said, delivering the national statement in the UN General Assembly. He said India is implementing the largest dam rehabilitation programme in the world, to bui

Around 3,700 dams in India will lose 26 per cent of their total storage by 2050 due to accumulation of sediments which can undermine water security, irrigation and power generation in future, warns a new study by the United Nations. The Central Water Commission, had in 2015, reported that among 141 large reservoirs which are over 50-years-old, one quarter had lost at least 30 per cent of their initial storage capacity. Trapped sediment has already robbed roughly 50,000 large dams worldwide of an estimated 13 to 19 per cent of their combined original storage capacity. The study by the United Nations University Institute on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), also known as the UN's think tank on water, shows that 6,316 billion cubic metre of initial global storage in 47,403 large dams in 150 countries will decline to 4,665 billion cubic metre, causing 26 per cent storage loss by 2050. The loss of 1,650 billion cubic metre storage capacity is roughly equal to the annual water u

Marathwada has already received 840 millimetres of rain this monsoon, or 123.62 per cent of the region's annual average rainfall of 679 millimetre

Despite this achievement, the target seems Sisyphean. These 80 million-odd households make up 41 per cent of rural families

Power Minister R K Singh on Wednesday brushed aside apprehensions that water storage or dam projects, which also generate hydro electricity, harm environment, and urged experts to commission an authoritative and scientific study to find out the truth. Speaking at a symposium on sustainable development of dams and river basins, Singh said, "I have not seen science of environment being harmed. I see science of progress in this (water storage). Punjab and Haryana developed and they are where they are today because of Bhakra Nangal dam." He further said, "If you ask any person in Bihar, then his dearest wish is to construct large dams on the river Kosi in Nepal. Wherever we constructed large dams, we have improved the lives of people...generations. This is the message we need to convey." He brought attention toward pushback to water storage or dam projects in the country by NGOs (non-government organisations) or civil societies which claim that these would harm environment. The ministe

The cumulative water storage in 248 major dams in Madhya Pradesh is 65 per cent, which is six per cent less than what was registered in the corresponding period last year, an official said

Out of these 91 reservoirs, 37 have hydropower generation capability with an installed capacity of more than 60 Mw

Storage is 52% short of the stock available during corresponding period last year