Water storage in India's 178 major reservoirs fell by 3.489 billion cubic metres in just seven days, declining to 66.70% of total live storage capacity on 22 October 2026.
Southern India's 50 monitored reservoirs held just 42.34% of their capacity, compared with 89.35% during the same period last year.
Several reservoirs in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Maharashtra's Marathwada region were below 30% capacity, with Manjra Dam holding just 7.74%.
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan also reported low storage in several reservoirs, highlighting significant regional disparities in water availability.
Water storage in India's 178 major reservoirs fell by nearly 3.5 billion cubic metres in seven days, with several reservoirs in southern and western states reporting particularly low levels, according to the latest data from the Central Water Commission (CWC).
The water situation in the country's major reservoirs has deteriorated over the past week. According to the CWC report, the 178 reservoirs held 126.717 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water on October 15, 2026, which fell to 123.228 BCM on October 22.
This represents a decline of 3.489 BCM in seven days.
The combined live storage capacity of these reservoirs is 184.762 BCM. As of October 22, they held 66.7 per cent of their capacity, down from 68.58 per cent a week earlier.
Several major reservoirs in southern India are holding less than a third of their total live storage capacity.
As of 22 October, the 50 major reservoirs monitored by the CWC across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana held 23.659 BCM of water, or 42.34 per cent of their combined live storage capacity of 55.879 BCM.
A week earlier, these reservoirs held 24.760 BCM, representing a decline of 1.101 BCM.
The scale of the shortfall is evident in comparisons with previous years. During the corresponding period in 2025, the reservoirs held 89.35 per cent of their capacity, compared with 42.34 per cent this year.
Current storage is also substantially below the 10-year average of 77.94 per cent of capacity, a gap of 35.60 percentage points.
State-wise data shows particularly low storage levels in several Tamil Nadu reservoirs.
Mettur Dam held 21.19 per cent of its live storage capacity, Vaigai 24.42 per cent, Lower Bhavani 27.78 per cent and Sholayar 19.58 per cent. Aliyar reservoir had no available live storage, while Karaiyar held 12.75 per cent and Manimuthar 19.87 per cent.
In Kerala, Periyar reservoir was at 28.90 per cent of capacity and Karapuzha at 48.61 per cent.
In Telangana, Nagarjuna Sagar held 29.68 per cent of its live storage capacity, while Sriram Sagar was at 44.65 per cent.
Several major reservoirs in Maharashtra's Marathwada region are also reporting low water levels.
Manjra Dam held just 7.74 per cent of its live storage capacity, Lower Dudhna 15.97 per cent, Lower Terna 19.43 per cent and Majalgaon 23.21 per cent.
All four reservoirs were therefore holding less than a quarter of their available live storage capacity.
Across Maharashtra, however, overall reservoir storage remained considerably higher.
On October 22, the state's 38 major reservoirs monitored by the CWC held approximately 16.37 BCM of water against a combined live storage capacity of 20.366 BCM, or about 80.4 per cent of capacity.
Between October 15 and 22, storage declined by 0.340 BCM, with the percentage of capacity filled falling from 82.05 per cent to 80.38 per cent.
The decline comes as the Maharashtra government has declared drought in parts of the state.
Reservoir storage has also fallen in Gujarat, where several dams are reporting low water levels.
According to the CWC's October 22 report, Gujarat's 19 monitored reservoirs have a combined live storage capacity of 18.013 BCM, of which approximately 13.939 BCM was available.
Storage declined by 0.289 BCM, or 289 million cubic metres, between 15 and 22 October.
Bhadar Dam held just 17.78 per cent of its live storage capacity, while Dantiwada was at 21.90 per cent and Machhu-1 at 22.71 per cent.
Sabarmati Dam held 47.35 per cent, Ukai 74.82 per cent and Kadana 52.79 per cent.
In contrast, Shetrunji Dam was at full capacity, while Sardar Sarovar held 99.44 per cent of its live storage capacity.
The figures highlight considerable differences in water availability between Gujarat's major reservoirs.
Reservoir storage in parts of central and eastern India was also below the corresponding period last year and, in several locations, below normal levels.
In Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar Dam held just 15.38 per cent of its live storage capacity, while Gandhi Sagar was at 66.76 per cent and Barna at 65.98 per cent.
Jawai Dam in Rajasthan held 12.44 per cent of its capacity, while Hinglo Dam in West Bengal was at 10.66 per cent.
In Bihar, the Badua and Chandan dams were also holding less than half their normal water storage levels.