At least 26 of India’s 123 reservoirs are full: Central Water Commission

Storage at major river basins was normal, with Narmada, Sabarmati, Krishna and Cauvery basins having storage above 90%
At least 26 of India’s 123 reservoirs are full: Central Water Commission
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At least 26 of the 123 reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC) were full, according to the latest bulletin released by the CWC. 

Eight reservoirs in the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are expected to be battered by torrential rains, noted the bulletin released September 8, 2022.

Tamil Nadu’s Lower Bhawani and Mettur dams were at their capacity at 279.89 metres and 240.79 metres, respectively. The state officials monitor these reservoirs due to the heavy inflow of water.

In Karnataka, five dams are full. Vani Vilas Sagar reservoir in Chitradurga was reportedly full for the first time this month in nine decades. The reservoir crossed its capacity and was overflowing. The reservoir level was 653.81 metres, as against the capacity of 652.28 metres.

Tungabhadra dam, where the inflow has increased in the last week due to heavy rainfall, was 90 per cent full as of September 8.

Overall, the total live storage of the reservoirs in the southern states of — Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, was 91 per cent of their capacity. 

Meanwhile, there were at least seven states where reservoir water levels were below normal, even as the monsoon entered its last month. These were — Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura and Nagaland.

Bihar had the highest departure at 78 per cent, followed by Tripura at 33 per cent and Uttar Pradesh at 31 per cent. Most of these states have seen deficient rainfall in the southwest monsoon season.

Overall, the live storage in India’s major 123 reservoirs has remained the same as last week at 177.464 billion cubic metres, which is 68.83 per cent of these reservoirs’ total live storage capacity.

Storage at major river basins was normal, with Narmada, Sabarmati, Krishna and Cauvery basins having storage above 90 per cent. 

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