KURNOOL: The Srisailam reservoir, a major source of drinking and irrigation water for several parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, has slipped below its dead storage capacity, triggering concerns over water availability during the coming summer.
The reservoir had just 51.10 TMC of water against its dead storage capacity of 53.85 TMC as on November 8, with no live storage available, according to the latest reservoir status report.
The water level stood at 831.50 feet against the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 885 feet. The situation is particularly worrying as the reservoir had 209.15 TMC of water on the corresponding date last year.
A senior irrigation officer said, “even during the difficult situation in 2017, there was considerably more water available at 89.74 TMC. We have not seen such a worst situation in our service over the last two decades.” The sharp fall in storage has also raised concerns over the availability of water for drinking and irrigation requirements in the coming months.
The combined storage in Kurnool and Nandyal districts stood at 23.28 TMC against 35.60 TMC, the previous year.
Kurnool district reservoirs had 4.64 TMC against 6.12 TMC last year for its total 4 reservoirs, while Nandyal district’s 6 reservoirs held 18.64 TMC against 29.48 TMC.
The authorities may have to closely monitor available supplies and prioritise drinking-water needs if the situation does not improve.