The southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana are in dire need of rainwater to replenish exceedingly low levels in reservoirs and all surface water structures. This water has come in the form of showers over the past five or six days, although the spread of the rainfall has been patchy, and whether rainwater has collected in significant quantities and percolated into sub-soil aquifers will not be known for at least another week.
Until 31 May 2016 the stored water situation as measured by the quantities recorded in the 91 major reservoirs of India was very grave indeed. The most recent weekly bulletin of the Central Water Commission, which monitors what is called the ‘live storage status’ of the 91 major reservoirs, was issued on 26 May. Out of the 91 reservoirs, 37 have hydro-electric power plants which deliver electricity to the states in which these reservoirs are and to the national grid.
The total ‘live storage’ capacity of these 91 reservoirs is 157.799 billion cubic metres (BCM) which is estimated as being about 62% of the total storage capacity of 253.388 BCM that is estimated to have been built or created. But the 26 May bulletin placed the total storage available in these reservoirs at 26.816 BCM, which is 17% of the total of 91 reservoirs. At this time in 2015, the total stored water was 49.119 BCM and the average of the last 10 years of storage at this time was 33.764 BCM. Thus, the stored water for the week ended 26 May is 55% of the quantity stored in 2015 and 79% of the quantity stored at this time averaged for the last ten years.
The Northern region is Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. There are six reservoirs with total live storage capacity of 18.01 BCM. By 26 May the total storage in these reservoirs was 3.91 BCM which is 22% of the total live storage capacity. The stored volume at the corresponding period in 2015 was 43% and the stored volume of the average corresponding period of the last ten years was 29%.
The Eastern region is Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura. There are 15 reservoirs with total live storage capacity of 18.83 BCM. By 26 May the total live storage in these reservoirs was 4.22 BCM which is 22% of total live storage capacity. The stored volume at the corresponding period in 2015 was 34% and the stored volume of the average corresponding period of the last ten years was 20%.
The Western region is Gujarat and Maharashtra. There are 27 reservoirs with total live storage capacity of 27.07 BCM. By 26 May the total live storage in these reservoirs was 3.90 BCM which is 14% of total live storage capacity. The stored volume at the corresponding period in 2015 was 26% and the stored volume of the average corresponding period of the last ten years was also 26%.
The Central region is Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. There are 12 reservoirs with total live storage capacity of 42.30 BCM. By 26 May the total live storage available in these reservoirs is 9.59 BCM which is 23% of total live storage capacity. The stored volume at the corresponding period in 2015 was 33% and the stored volume of the average corresponding period of the last ten years was 18%.
The Southern region is Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, combined projects in both states, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. There are 31 reservoirs with total live storage capacity of 51.59 BCM. By 26 May the total live storage available in these reservoirs was 5.21 BCM which is 10% of total live storage capacity. The stored volume at the corresponding period in 2015 was 27% and the stored volume of the average corresponding period of the last ten years was 20%.
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