The water storage in India’s 161 major reservoirs dropped below 40 per cent of the capacity this week with the level in 65 per cent of them below 50 per cent, data from the Central Water Commission showed.

The CWC’s weekly bulletin on the 161 reservoirs showed that the storage dropped to 72.91 billion cubic metres (BCM) this week of the 182.375 BCM capacity. It was still higher than last year and normal (last 10 years) levels. 

Barring the central region, the level in the rest of the country was below 40 per cent of the capacity. 

In the 27 reservoirs of the eastern region, the level this week declined to 37.6 per cent of the 21.655 BCM capacity at 8.15 BCM. Jharkhand six dams were filled to 53 per cent of the capacity, while Mizoram’s lone reservoir was nearly empty. Meghalaya’s lone dam was filled to 76 per cent. The level in Triupura’s lone dam was 57 per cent, but in the rest of the States the storage was lower than 40 per cent . 

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The level in the 28 reservoirs of the Central region was 45 per cent of the 48.588 BCM capacity at 22.021 BCM. Madhya Pradesh’s 11 reservoir were filled to 49 per cent of the capacity. Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh had levels of 40 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively, but the storage in the three reservoirs of Uttarakhand dropped to 31 per cent. 

The 11 reservoirs in the northern region were filled to 23 per cent or 4.555 BCM of the 19.836 BCM capacity. Barring Rajasthan, where the level was 41.5 per cent, the storage in Punjab and Himachal were below 17.5 per cent. 

Of the 45 reservoirs in the southern region, the storage was 36.5 per cent of the 54.939 BCM capacity at 20.092 BCM. Tamil Nadu continued to be one of the States with higher storage, while Kerala’s reservoirs were filled to 43 per cent. In the rest of the States in the region, the level was below 40 per cent. 

Further drop likely

In the western region, the storage in the 50 reservoirs declined to 48 per cent or 18.092 BCM of the 37.357 BCM capacity. Goa’s lone reservoir was filled to 51 per cent, while the level in Maharashtra and Gujarat was 47 and 49 per cent, respectively. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall this month. This could result in further drop in the reservoirs level. 

Published on April 3, 2025