Water storage in the country's reservoirs surges

Water storage in the country's 91 important reservoirs has touched 48.51 billion cubic metres (BCM) mark, which is 31 per cent of their total capacity this monsoon season and better than last year's figure.
The water storage available in 91 important reservoirs in the country is better when compared to the corresponding period of last year, the Central Water Commission (CWC) said today.
As on July 9, the water available in 91 reservoirs of the country was 48.51 BCM, which is 31 per cent of their total storage capacity, CWC said in a statement.
It is 131 per cent more than the corresponding period of last year and 119 per cent of the storage of average of last ten years.

"The present storage position is better than the storage position of last year and also better than the storage of average of last ten years," it stated.
In the western region, comprising Gujarat and Maharashtra, storage during the current year was less than the average storage of last ten years, though the present storage level was better compared with the corresponding period of last year.

The 27 reservoirs of the region have a total storage capacity of 27.07 BCM and presently the total water stored in these reservoirs is 6.71 BCM, which is 25 per cent of total storage capacity of these reservoirs.

The storage during the corresponding period of last year was 21 per cent and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 29 per cent of storage capacity of these reservoirs, the statement added.
"Thus storage during current year is better than that of last year but is less than the average storage of last ten years," the statement said.
States of Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have witnessed less storage than the corresponding period of last year.
Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, Tripura, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have registered a better storage than the corresponding period of last year.

CWC, functioning under the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, monitors the live storage status of these reservoirs on weekly basis.