Over 50% of key Indian reservoirs brimming as storage tops 90% of capacity

Over 50 per cent of India’s major reservoirs are nearly brimming, with the storage crossing 90 per cent of the capacity this week, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed.  

The storage, which is 3.5 percentage points higher than last year and 15 percentage points more than normal (the last 10 years’ level), has improved this year with the South-West Monsoon showering 8 per cent excess rainfall. 

CWC’s weekly report on storage in the key reservoirs showed that the level was 90.4 per cent of the 182.496 billion cubic metres (BCM) capacity at  164.986 BCM. Reservoirs in three of the five regions in the country continued to have storage above 90 per cent. 

48 dams filled above 90 per cent

Thirty-five reservoirs were full, while the level in 48 was above 90 per cent. Of the 35, 13 dams are in Maharashtra. Of the rest, four reservoirs are in Rajasthan, three reservoirs each in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Karnataka, two in Uttar Pradesh and one each in  Chhattisgarh and Telangana besides the lone reservoirs in Goa and Mizoram. 

Though surplus rainfall in many parts of the country has affected some of the kharif crops and delayed their harvest, the reservoirs’ level augurs good for the rabi season, which has begun this month.  

The western region continued to have the highest storage in its 50 reservoirs at 97.31 per cent of the 37.357 BCM capacity at 36.351 BCM.  Apart from Goa, the storage in Gujarat was 96.79 per cent and in Maharashtra, it was 97.76 per cent. 

Eastern region lowest

In the northern region, the 11 reservoirs were filled to 17.889 BCM or 90 per cent of the 19.836 BCM capacity. The level in Rajasthan was 97 per cent, while in  Himachal, it was 89 per cent and in Punjab, 83.58per cent . 

The eastern region continued to have the lowest level, though it increased marginally this week. The 27 reservoirs in the region were filled to 78 per cent of the 21.759 BCM capacity at 17.122 BCM. Besides Mizoram, the level in Meghalaya and Tripura was over 97 per cent. The level in Odisha was 82 per cent and in West Bengal, it topped 50 per cent this week. 

The 28 reservoirs in the central region had a storage of 92.75 per cent or 45.063 BCM of the 48.588 BCM capacity. The level in Madhya Pradesh over 96.5 per cent and in Uttarakhand , it was over 95 per cent. Chhattisgarh dams were filled to 88 per cent of capacity, while those in Uttar Pradesh 78 per cent.

More rise likely

The storage in the southern region increased after a couple of weeks gap. The 46 dams in the region were filled to 88.39 per cent at 48.562 BCM of the 54.939 BCM capacity. The level in Andhra Pradesh was over 91 per cent, while it was 90 per cent in Tamil Nadu and a tad lower than 90 per cent in Karnataka. In Kerala, the storage was 76.75 per cent and in Telangana, it was 79 per cent.

With rain lashing the east coast under the influence of a deep depression that cross the Odisha coast on Friday and a cyclonic storm developing in the Arabian sea, the storage will likely increase next week. 

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Published on October 4, 2025