Dry monsoon pushes Telangana towards water crisis as reservoirs shrink

A weak Southwest Monsoon has pushed Telangana to the brink of a potential drinking water crisis, with storage levels in major reservoirs depleting sharply and inflows into the Krishna and Godavari rivers remaining negligible. As anxiety grows over dwindling water reserves, the State government is yet to unveil a comprehensive contingency plan, despite officials warning of a worsening situation if rains fail to revive by the end of July.

As on Wednesday evening, all the major reservoirs were holding 337.46 TMCft against total capacity of 1,059 TMCft. During the corresponding period last year, water levels in major reservoirs stood at 522.31 TMCft.

More than a month into the monsoon season, rainfall has remained far below expectations across Telangana and its upstream catchments. Telangana recorded a 13 per cent



rainfall deficiency during the season, with rainfall remaining largely scattered and erratic. The absence of significant rainfall has virtually halted flood inflows into reservoirs, forcing authorities to rely almost entirely on carryover storage from the previous water year.

The situation is particularly alarming in the Krishna basin. The Srisailam reservoir, with a full capacity of 215 TMCft, currently holds just 42 TMCft, compared to 199 TMCft during the corresponding period last year. Nagarjuna Sagar contains only 138 TMCft against its full capacity of 312 TMCft, while upstream reservoirs in Karnataka are yet to accumulate enough water to permit downstream releases.

Although Almatti is receiving over 1.26 lakh cusecs of inflows, releases are unlikely until its storage reaches at least 100 TMCft.