Storage in key Indian resevoirs up at over 80% of capacity

The storage situation augurs well for the kharif and rabi crops, though some parts of the country, such as Maharashtra, have been affected due to heavy rain
| Photo Credit:
iStockphoto

Almost 10 per cent of the 161 major reservoirs are full, while the overall storage this week was more than four-fifths of total capacity, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed. 

The CWC, in its weekly bulletin on the storage situation in the major reservoirs, said the level in the 161 reservoirs increased to 152.309 billion cubic metres (BCM) or 83.47 per cent of the 182.496 BCM capacity. This is 6.79 per cent higher than a year ago and 21.5 per cent more than the normal (last 10 years) storage.

The storage situation augurs well for the kharif and rabi crops, though some parts of the country, such as Maharashtra, have been affected due to heavy rain. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the south-west monsoon showered 6 per cent surplus rain as of August 28. The north-west part received 24 per cent surplus rain, while the central and southern parts received 9 and 8 per cent excess, respectively. In the eastern and north-eastern region, the monsoon deficiency was 18 per cent of the normal rainfall. Of the 728 districts, the rainfall was deficient in 22. 

Maharashtra level 90%

CWC data showed that 15 reservoirs were filled fully, with two of them each in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, one each in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, besides the lone reservoirs in Goa, Mizoram and Meghalaya. 

In the northern zone, the level in the 11 reservoirs was 91.13 per cent of the 19.836 BCM capacity at 18.076 BCM. The storage in all three States —Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal —was over 90 per cent. 

The 27 reservoirs of the eastern region were filled to 67.72 per cent or 14.736 BCM of the  21.759 capacity. Apart from Mizoram, the level in Tripura was above 90 per cent and over 80 per cent in Bihar. Assam, Nagaland and Odisha storage was lower than 70 per cent, while it was above 70 per cent in the rest of the States in the region.

The level was 87.19 per cent of the 37.357 BCM capacity at 32.571 BCM in the 50 reservoirs of the western region. Apart from Goa, the level in Maharashtra and Gujarat was 95 per cent and 79.14 per cent, respectively.

The 28 reservoirs in the central region were filled to 82 per cent or 39.784 BCM of 48.588 BCM capacity. The storage in was over 80 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while it was 76 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 79.5 per cent in Uttarakhand. 

In the souther region, the level in the 45 reservoirs was 80 per cent of the 54.939 BCM capacity at 47.143 BCM. Reservoirs in Tamil Nadu were filled over 95 per cent, while those in Andhra and Karnataka were filled over 80 per cent. In Kerala and Telangana, it was over 75 per cent.  

Published on August 28, 2025