Rains fill up Harangi, Himayath Sagar reservoirs but average capacity still very low

Rains river basins have improved inflow to dams and reservoirs in parts of South India while water levels are dangerously low in other dams in comparison to last year's numbers

Heavy rains lashing parts of Kodagu, Wayanad, Hyderabad have led to rising water levels in reservoirs and dams in the region. Despite some dams almost reaching full capacity, reservoirs in parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh are seeing dangerously low average levels of water.

Dams in Krishna, Godavari and Pennar basins

As on July 21, water levels at the Almatti dam in Krishna basin of Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka stood at 1688.72 Ft as against the maximum level of 1705. Water level at Nagarjuna Sagar was 501 ft as against 590 maximum level. The water levels at Tungabhadra dam in the Krishna basin stands at 1598.9 ft. Dams in Godavari basin of Andhra Pradesh are yet to near full capacity but more rains predicted in the region could come as a relief.

Water levels at Nizam Sagar dam stood at 1380.3 ft as against the maximum level of 1405 ft on July 21. Levels at Sriram Sagar in the basin was recorded as 1055.2 ft. The Gandikota reservoir in the Pennar basin recorded water level of 655.87 ft as against maximum level of 695.54 ft

Hyderabad rains do Telangana dams good

In Telangana, the water level at Osman Sagar reservoir on July 21 stood at 1776.960 ft as against the maximum level of 1790 ft. Water level stood at 1745.5 ft in the Himayath Sagar. The Singur dam has 1709.6 ft water as against the maximum level of 1717.9 ft.

Reservoirs in old Mysuru region fill up as rains lash Kodagu

While old Mysuru region in Karnataka has reason to cheer with water levels at dams and reservoirs rising, northern parts of the state still stare at a possible drought with water levels in dams and reservoirs barely touching the halfway mark.

As on July 21, the Harangi reservoir stood almost to capacity with 2852.89 ft as against the maximum capacity of 2859 ft. The Kabini dam near Mysuru has a water level of 2271.75 ft as against the maximum capacity of 2284 ft. The Krishna Raja Sagar dam, however, has only 81.2 ft as against 124 ft reservoir level. The Hemavati dam recorded water levels of 2883.75 ft as against the full capacity of 2922 ft.

Water levels in North Karnataka dams low

The situation is grim for other reservoirs in Karnataka. Linganamakki, Varahi and Supa are far from nearing maximum capacity with water levels still very low. As on July 21, the Linganamakki dam recorded 1774.05 ft water as against reservoir level of 1819 ft. Supa dam had 1771.2 ft of water as against reservoir level of 1849.92 ft with a balance 78.72 ft water.

The water levels in Varahi dam stands at 1902.07 ft as against 1949.50 ft. The average storage capacity is far less in comparison to last year's numbers and the state face acute water shortage last year leading to a drought. Water levels at Bhadra dam stood at 2107.33 ft against maximum level of 2158 ft while Ghataprabha recorded water levels of 2126.10 against 2175 ft as on July 21.

Deficient monsoon a cause of worry

All Southern states put together, there are 31 reservoirs under CWC monitoring and record a maximum total live storage capacity of 51.59 BCM. However, despite rains in the last few days, current total live storage in these reservoirs is 8.64 BCM which is 17 per cent while last year around the same time it was 28 per cent.

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