Water level in 75% reservoirs in India below 40% their capacity: Report

Water levels in 110 out of 146 reservoirs (75 per cent) in the country are 40 per cent or below their full capacity, raising concerns about the availability of water in the near future, The Economic Times (ET) reported citing data from the Central Water Commission (CWC).

India witnessed deficient rainfall in June despite the monsoon covering the entire country six days ahead of schedule, it added. This has also impacted the sowing of main Kharif crops like paddy.

The report said that till July 4, 33 per cent of 717 districts in the country received deficient rains. Another 10 per cent performed even worse.

As of June 30, the water level in reservoirs of 10 states was lower than the 30-year average. The deficiency in these ten states ranges between 11 per cent to 80 per cent. However, the water level is better based on the average of the last ten years.

In India, the filling of reservoirs takes place between June and September during the monsoon season. The hydrological year starts in June and continues till May next year. Moreover, as of 2019-20, 41 million hectares of 112 million hectares were irrigated by surface water.

Last week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the monsoon is expected to be normal in July across the country, barring parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and south Bihar.

The weather office said the monsoon covered the entire country on Sunday, against the normal date of July 8. As many as 16 states and Union territories received deficient rainfall in June, with Bihar and Kerala reporting large deficits at 69 per cent and 60 per cent below normal, respectively.

Some other states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, also received less rainfall than what is normal for June, the first month of the southwest monsoon season.

"The monthly rainfall averaged over the country as a whole during July 2023 is most likely to be normal (94 to 106 per cent of LPA) and most probably within the positive side of the normal," IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.

The long-period average (LPA) of rainfall over the country during July, based on the data of 1971-2020, is about 280.4 mm.

(With agency inputs)