VIJAYAWADA: Heavy rainfall and significant water inflows from upstream regions have brought Andhra Pradesh’s reservoirs and dams to near-full capacity.
According to the Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Information and Management System, the state’s 110 reservoirs, including major, medium, and minor ones, currently hold 760.03 TMC (75.67%) of water, which is almost 92 TMC more than the previous year’s storage of 668 TMC by August 10. With a total capacity of 1,004.34 TMC, water authorities expect the reservoirs to fill up completely by the end of the month.
Notably, it’s been 20 years since the state’s reservoirs reached this level of water storage by early August.
Usually, reservoirs fill up to capacity by September, often sporadically. This year, however, major reservoirs have reached full capacity ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, major projects like Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar, and Pulichintala, which are vital for both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for agricultural activities and drinking water needs, have almost reached their full reservoir levels (FRL).
The Nagarjuna Sagar Project has reached 100% storage capacity of 312.05 TMC of water (590 feet), followed by the Srisailam Project, which has a storage of 189.45 TMC (87.79%) against its FRL of 215.80 TMC. The project has been receiving a constant inflow of 1,97,188 cusecs of water from upstream.
Another major reservoir, the Pulichintala project, is also witnessing a storage of 42.72 TMC (93.34%) and is receiving a flood of 49,521 cusecs of water.
On the other hand, the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage also has a full storage capacity of 2.93 TMC.
Medium and minor reservoirs hold 70.21 TMC
However, apart from major dams, medium and minor reservoirs have been filled to 51.22% of their capacity. The total capacity of all medium and minor reservoirs is 137.08 TMC, and so far, they have been filled with 70.21 TMC of water.
Farmers in the Krishna delta are hoping for the Rabi season as the major reservoirs have been filled with ample water. They have been requesting the government to release water for Rabi, but the government has been sidelining their requests, citing water unavailability over the years. However, this year, water availability is full, and farmers are anticipating water for Rabi needs.
One irrigation engineer said, “This year too, water is not likely to be released for Rabi as there will be no storage by January. Due to power generation at the Srisailam project, water levels tend to decrease, and the Nagarjuna Sagar project maintenance is under the joint control of the Telangana and Andhra governments. So, there shall be no clarity on water release for Rabi.”