India's reservoir storage levels surpass 10-year average by 14%: CWC

New Delhi: The Central Water Commission (CWC) has reported a significant improvement in the live storage levels of India's reservoirs this year, with the current storage exceeding the ten-year average by 14 per cent.

According to the latest Reservoir Storage Bulletin, the live storage available in 150 major reservoirs across the country is 124.016 billion cubic metres (BCM), which is 69 per cent of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. This marks a substantial increase from the corresponding period last year, when the storage was 111.85 BCM.

The current storage also exceeds the ten-year average, known as 'normal storage', which stood at 108.79 BCM, according to the CWC report released on August 16.

Regionally, the storage levels vary across different parts of the country. In the northern region, which includes Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan, the storage is at 51 per cent of the total capacity, a decrease from last year's 88 per cent and below the normal storage level of 71 per cent.

Conversely, the eastern region, comprising Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, and Bihar, has shown improvement, with storage at 53 per cent of capacity, up from 38 per cent last year and better than the normal level of 50 per cent.

The western region, including Gujarat and Maharashtra, also recorded a positive trend, with 72 per cent of total capacity being filled, compared to 68 per cent during the same period last year and 61 per cent of normal storage.

Similarly, the central region, which covers Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, reported 72 per cent storage capacity, improving on last year's 69 per cent and the normal level of 62 per cent.

The southern region, which includes Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, stands out with the highest storage levels. The reservoirs in this region are filled to 79 per cent of their capacity, a significant rise from 53 per cent last year and well above the normal storage level of 60 per cent.

The CWC's bulletin highlights that the overall storage position in the country is better than both the corresponding period of last year and the normal storage for this time of the year.

The data reflects that the efforts in managing water resources have resulted in improved storage across most regions, although some states, like Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, have reported lower storage levels compared to last year.