Storage in India’s key reservoirs rise for second week in a row

A view of the Poondi Reservoir (also known as Sathyamoorthy Sagar reservoir) in Tiruvallur district, Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

The water storage in India’s 161 major reservoirs increased for the second consecutive week, with the level increasing to 31.13 per cent of the capacity, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed.

CWC’s weekly data on the live storage of the 161 major reservoirs in the country showed that the level increased this week to 56.802 billion cubic metres (BCM) against the 182.444 BCM capacity. Last week, the storage, which turned positive after 28 weeks, was 30.33 per cent of the capacity.

The storage is 38 percentage points higher than last year and 29 per cent more than normal (last 10 years). 

More inflows

More dams filled up last week, with reservoirs having storage below 40 per cent declining to 101 from 104. Overall, the level in 77 per cent of the storages is below 50 per cent. While the storage increased in the southern and eastern regions, it dropped in central, northern and western regions. 

In the 11 reservoirs of the northern region, the level was 29.07 per cent of the 19.836 BCM capacity at 5.766 BCM. The storage in Punjab slipped to 42.15 per cent, in Himachal to 17.23 per cent, and in Rajasthan to 52.38 per cent. 

The level in the 27 reservoirs of the eastern region increased to 5.678 BCM of the 21.724 capacity. The storage in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram was above 50 per cent, while it was lower in other states in the region.  

The 50 reservoirs in the western region saw their storage drop a tad to 31.31 per cent or 11.698 BCM of the 37.357 BCM capacity. The level in Maharashtra improved to 28.88 per cent, and in Goa to 49.78 per cent, but dropped in Gujarat to 33.67 per cent. 

Likely to remain unchanged

In the central zone, the level in the 28 reservoirs dipped to 30.86 per cent of the 48.588 BCM capacity at 14.992 BCM. The storage in Madhya Pradesh was down to 35.51 per cent, in Chhattisgarh to 24.33 and in Uttarakhand to 13.5 per cent. In Uttar Pradesh, it was unchanged at 27.48 per cent.

The level in 45 reservoirs of the southern region increased to 33.98 per cent of the 54.939 BCM capacity at 18.668 BCM. Tamil Nadu continued to have the best storage this week too, with its reservoirs filled to 77.38 per cent. In Kerala, the level was up at 40.24 per cent and in Karnataka at 31.64 per cent. In Andhra Pradesh, the level was 24.5 per cent, and in Telangana, it improved to 31.83 per cent.

The situation will likely remain the same for another week as the south-west monsoon has paused, having arrived early on May 21.

Published on June 5, 2025