Water storage level in 91 major reservoirs goes up by two percent

The water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country for the week ending on September 13, 2018, was 121.655 BCM which is 75% of the total storage capacity of these reservoirs. This percentage was at 73% for the week ending on September 06, 2018. The level of water storage in the week ending on September 13, 2018, was 131% of the storage of the corresponding period of last year and 111% of storage of average of the last ten years.

The total storage capacity of these 91 reservoirs is 161.993 BCM which is about 63% of the total storage capacity of 257.812 BCM which is estimated to have been created in the country. 37 Reservoirs out of these 91 have hydropower benefit with an installed capacity of more than 60 MW.

NORTHERN REGION

The northern region includes States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan. There are six reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 18.01 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 13.81 BCM which is 77% of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during the corresponding period of last year was 86% and average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period was 82% of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during the current year is less than the corresponding period of last year and is also less than the average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period.

EASTERN REGION

The Eastern region includes States of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Tripura. There are 15 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 18.83 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 15.90 BCM which is 84% of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during the corresponding period of last year was 61% and average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period was 66% of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during the current year is better than the corresponding period of last year and is also better than the average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period.

WESTERN REGION

The Western region includes the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra. There are 27 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 31.26 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 17.17 BCM which is 55% of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during the corresponding period of last year was 64% and average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period was 63% of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during the current year is less than the storage of last year and is also less than the average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period.

CENTRAL REGION

The Central region includes States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. There are 12 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 42.30 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 33.17 BCM which is 78% of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during the corresponding period of last year was 59% and average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period was 70% of a live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during the current year is better than the storage of last year and is also better than the average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period.

SOUTHERN REGION

The Southern region includes States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, AP&TG (Two combined projects in both states), Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. There are 31 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 51.59 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 41.60 BCM which is 81% of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during the corresponding period of last year was 41% and average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period was 65% of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during the current year is better than the corresponding period of last year and is also better than the average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period.

States having better storage than last year for the corresponding period are Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, AP&TG (Two combined projects in both states), Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. States having lesser storage than last year for the corresponding period are Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tripura, and Gujarat.

(With inputs from PIB)