However, 14 out of the 123 reservoirs monitored by the CWC are 100% full
Live storage in 123 reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC) has increased by 21 BCM (billion cubic metres) in the last seven days, as showers continue in several parts of India.
The live water storage available in these reservoirs was 131.172 BCM, according to a bulletin released by CWC on August 28, 2020. This is 77 per cent of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. It was recorded at 109.937 BCM on August 20.
This could be a good news for many reservoirs as these can store more water in them before the monsoon season officially ends on September 30.
The live storage available in these reservoirs for the corresponding period last year was 129.027 BCM and the average of the last 10 years’ live storage was 109.839 BCM.
Thus, the live storage available in 123 reservoirs was 102 per cent of the live storage of corresponding period of last year and 119 per cent of storage of average for the last ten years.
However, 14 out of the 123 monitored reservoirs were 100 per cent full and with the monsoon still continuing, these need to be managed carefully. Six of these dams are in Maharashtra, three in Karnataka, one each in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
Besides this, the CWC issued a separate forecast for 27 dams, that are between 70% and 100% full and where more rainfall is forecast.
The southern region, that has 36 reservoirs monitored by CWC in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, has the highest live storage when compared with live storage capacity — 41.36 BCM live storage, 78 per cent of total live storage capacity in the region.
Meanwhile, there are also states that have recorded a departure from normal storage. These are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. This could either be due to release of water from the reservoirs or below normal rainfall.
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