Reservoir water level 23% down on-year, 9% below 10-year average; experts see severe impact
Bank of Baroda. “At any rate, July-August are normally the months when there is heaviest rain and, hence, the deficit in August will have far-reaching impact." For the week ended Wednesday, India recorded a precipitation of 30.7 mm, 40% lower than the long period average (LPA). Higher water levels are critical for the agriculture sector, with farmers largely depending on reservoirs for irrigation.
Data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed that the water level in 150 reservoirs is currently at 113.417 billion cubic metres (bcm), which is 63% of the overall capacity. It pales in comparison to last week and the same period last year, when storage was at 146.828 bcm. The ten-year average for this period is 125.117 bcm.
The CWC reported, “The storage in the 150 reservoirs is presently at 77% of the same period's storage last year and 91% of the ten-year average." Region-wise, reservoirs in states such as Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Nagaland, Telangana and Uttarakhand fare better than the previous year. In contrast, several other states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha, among others, have reported reduced water levels. A detailed regional analysis highlights that 23 major dams in eastern India show water levels 38% below the previous year.
Meanwhile, 42 reservoirs in the southern part of the country are 10% below last year’s level. East and northeast India received 30% higher than the benchmark LPA in the week ending Wednesday, reducing the deficiency gap to 16% during 1 June-30 August. The monsoon precipitation deficiency in southern India stood at 48% last week, widening the gap to 17% till 30 August since 1 June, affecting the predominantly
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