At least 70 per cent of India has received less than normal or no rainfall since the beginning of this year. This is making the situation very bad on the water storage front.
According to the weekly bulletin of the Central Water Commission (CWC) released on March 5, 2026, the total water available in 166 major reservoirs of the country is 104.13 billion cubic meters (BCM), which is 56.73 per cent of the total capacity of 183.565 BCM.
According to the CWC bulletin, this level is 13 per cent higher than last year and 27 per cent higher than the normal level.
But in many reservoirs, the water level is much less than the normal level.
Although the total water storage is still more than normal, the situation is expected to worsen due to the rapid depletion of storage. The water level in some states and river basins has receded alarmingly.
This is especially true for reservoirs of South India and some Northeastern states.
According to field data, the total live storage available in 47 reservoirs of South India is 26.35 BCM, which is about 47.66 per cent of their total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. This is lower than other regions of the country and may raise concerns about water availability during the summer season.
Experts say that the demand for irrigation and drinking water in South India is already high. In such a situation, if the pre-monsoon rainfall is less than normal, water crisis conditions may develop in many areas.
According to the bulletin, at least five reservoirs in India have storage below 50 per cent of the normal level. Among them, the worst situation is in Bihar’s Chandan Dam. Only 15 per cent of the normal water is left.
The Chandan Dam was built in 1962 across the Chandan river originating from the Deoghar hills of what is now Jharkhand. It is one of the major irrigation projects in Banka district. The dam provides irrigation to Banka, Bausi, Barahat and Dhoraiya blocks as well as parts of Bhagalpur district. It has the capacity to irrigate about 80,000 hectares of Rabi and Kharif crops.
At the moment, the water level in the reservoir is much lower than normal, posing a challenge for Rabi crops and summer irrigation in the coming months.
Apart from this, about 31 per cent water is left in Sholayar (Tamil Nadu), 38 per cent in Vaigai (Tamil Nadu), 43 per cent in Khandong (Assam) and 46 per cent in Tuirial (Mizoram).
The basin-wise analysis in the bulletin places the Barak river basin in the “deficient” category. This means that the storage of reservoirs in the region is more than 20 per cent less than the normal level.
Although no river basin has been put in the “extreme scarcity” category yet, the falling water level in some areas is being considered a warning sign for the coming months.
The water level in 28 reservoirs in Central India was recorded at 30.121 BCM or about 62 per cent against the total capacity of 48.588 BCM. The dams in Chhattisgarh were 76 per cent full, while the water storage in Madhya Pradesh was 64 per cent. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand recorded 53 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.
The water level in 53 reservoirs of the Western region is 25.450 BCM i.e. about 67 per cent against the total capacity of 38.094 BCM. In Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, the water bodies were recorded between 65 and 70 per cent.
Since the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has not predicted any major rainfall in the next two weeks, the water level in the reservoirs is expected to decrease further.
According to the IMD, data from 719 districts shows that 91 per cent of them have not received any rainfall at all since March 1. During January-February, more than 70 per cent of the parts of the country recorded below normal or no rainfall.
Between March and June, the water level in reservoirs generally decreases sharply as rainfall is very low during this time while the demand for irrigation and drinking water increases.
In such a situation, water management can become a big challenge during summer in areas where the water level is already low. Experts say that better planning of water use and distribution in these areas will be necessary so that a possible water crisis can be dealt with.