Water levels rise 8 per cent in reservoirs

NEW DELHI: Water levels in 91 major reservoirs in India rose more than 8 per cent in the past week, boosted by good monsoon rains in the west and north-west.

The reservoirs held 86.629 billion cubic metres (bcm) of water, or 55 per cent of their capacity, as of Thursday, the Central Water Commission said. This was an 8.4 per cent increase from 79.925 bcm a week earlier. However, the water level was below the 10-year average of 103.652 bcm and 103.719 bcm a year earlier. "The situation will improve as we are getting a good patch of monsoon rains. Rains have been widespread in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and west India. With these rains, reservoirs will get inflows and levels will increase," said S Masood Husain, member of the CWC.

Rising water levels in the reservoirs will improve soil moisture content and aid plant growth, brightening prospects of winter crops, Husain said. It will also help hydropower projects generate electricity after the fourmonth monsoon season ends in September, he said.

Reservoir water levels were above normal – the 10-year average – in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Tripura, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The situation was grim in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, where state governments may regulate usage of water from reservoirs for drinking and irrigation if it doesn't rain, said Husain.

Water levels in reservoirs in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Uttarakhand were below normal. One reservoir – Nagarjuna Sagar on the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh border – still doesn't have any water.

So far, 35 reservoirs have water exceeding last year's levels and 38 reservoirs have storage above the 10-year average. The basins of the Indus, Sabarmati, Mahi, Rivers of Kutch and Ganga recorded better than normal storage.

Storage fell short of the normal level by less than 10 per cent in the basins of the Godavari and the Mahanadi and its neighbouring east flowing rivers. The Narmada, Tapi, Cauvery and Krishna basin had deficient storage.