Hyderabad faces drinking water crisis by December; Singur reservoir, crucial to city's IT belt, has only 60 days of supply left

Hyderabad's core urban region is heading toward a serious drinking water shortage as the key reservoirs that feed the city keep losing water fast, according to a report by the Times of India. Deficient rainfall and El Nino conditions have left major sources running far below normal levels, and officials now fear the crunch could hit well before summer.

The situation is most alarming at Singur, the reservoir that supplies water to the city's IT belt in Cyberabad. Officials say the reservoir could run completely dry within the next 60 days, pushing the crisis to as early as mid December. The numbers have already set off worried conversations among Cyberabad residents and IT employees, many of whom are now tracking the reservoir updates closely since their daily supply depends directly on Singur.

Hyderabad's Water Crisis Looms

Singur currently holds around 3.9 TMC of water against a full capacity of 29.9 TMC. That works out to barely 13 percent storage. What makes this more worrying is that the current level is nearly half of what Singur held during peak summer earlier this year.

Osmansagar, which supplies the Old City and the areas around it, is in a similar spot. Storage there has dropped from 3.5 TMC to 2.2 TMC, cutting further into the city's already thin buffer.

What Is Driving The Water Shortage?
Rainfall has simply not kept up this year. Telangana has officially declared a 17 percent rainfall deficit across the state, and inflows into reservoirs from Nagarjuna Sagar to Singur have dropped sharply as a result.

The problem is not limited to one or two reservoirs either. Hyderabad also draws water from the Krishna river through Nagarjuna Sagar and from the Godavari through the Sripada Yellampally project, and officials in the irrigation department say levels across both the Krishna and Godavari basins are concerningly low right now.

What Are Officials Planning To Do?
With the numbers looking this bad, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has started working on a contingency plan well ahead of time. Managing director K Ashok Reddy has directed his team to prepare area wise plans so supply does not break down overnight if Singur or other sources dry up.

A senior HMWSSB official explained what this involves, as quoted by TOI. "We will identify all areas dependent on Singur and Manjeera and prepare region wise contingency plans specifying the alternative water source, supply route and quantity that can be provided to each locality in the event of a disruption. Areas that experience low pressure are also to be identified," the official said.

In simple terms, every neighbourhood that depends on Singur or Manjeera will get a backup plan on paper, naming exactly where its emergency water will come from and how it will reach homes.

Why Is Agriculture Water Being Cut?
Telangana state government along with declaring the rainfall deficit, has directed irrigation officials not to release any more water for farming purposes. Drinking water for the city is being treated as the bigger concern right now, even at the cost of agricultural supply.

A chief engineer in the irrigation department laid out how water actually moves to villages and towns around Hyderabad at this stage. "Water is drawn by the rural water supply department by routing it through villages from various reservoirs and connecting lakes. Now, with water levels running low, a drinking water crisis may begin as early as December or January instead of summer," the chief engineer told TOI.

That timeline is the part catching most people off guard. Hyderabad residents are used to water worries building up closer to peak summer, usually around April or May. This year, officials are saying the shortage could show up two to three months earlier than that.

What Does This Mean For The City Going Forward?
For now, the government's stated priority is clear, drinking water comes first. But with Singur at 13 percent, Osmansagar falling steadily, and both the Krishna and Godavari basins running low, the margin for error is small. Much will depend on how quickly the contingency plans translate into action on the ground, and whether the city gets any meaningful rainfall before mid December arrives.

History Behind Hyderabad's Water Reservoirs
Hyderabad's dependence on reservoirs like Singur, Osmansagar and Himayatsagar goes back decades. Osmansagar and Himayatsagar were originally built under the Nizam era, in the 1920s, mainly to prevent flooding in the city and to secure its water supply. Singur, built on the Manjira river, was constructed later and opened in 1998 after construction began in 1979, serving as both an irrigation and drinking water source for the city.

Over the years, as Hyderabad's population grew, the city gradually shifted much of its dependence toward the Krishna and Godavari rivers, reducing how much it relied on the older reservoirs. That shift is part of why Singur and Osmansagar, even when they run low, are no longer the city's only lifeline, though officials say they remain critical for specific zones like Cyberabad and the Old City.