Monsoon mid-way, reservoir levels still low

NEW DELHI: Though the southwest monsoon is half way through, reservoirs in the country, except the southern region, have recorded less water storage levels compared to the corresponding period of last year, shows the latest data released by the Central Water Commission.

The overall storage position in the reservoirs is, however, better than the normal storage during the corresponding period. The normal storage level is the average of the last 10 years.

The water storage in 150 major reservoirs is 91.496 billion cubic metre (BCM), which is 51% of their total live storage capacity, the data shows. Last year the live storage available in these reservoirs for the corresponding period was 97.738 BCM and the normal storage was 85.334 BCM.

The situation in 10 reservoirs in the North and 26 in the central region is worse after the passing of half of the monsoon. The situation in 23 reservoirs in the East and 49 in the West is better than the corresponding period of last year but less than normal storage level. Only the southern region reservoirs have better storage compared to the same period of last year. They have also recorded better than normal storage in the same period last year.