Telangana water crisis deepens as reservoirs hold only 42.18 TMC usable water

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has said only 42.18 TMC of usable water remains in reservoirs across the Krishna and Godavari basins, warning that the available storage is primarily meant to meet drinking water requirements.

The assessment was included in the state’s contingency plan prepared in view of the impact of El Niño. According to the report, the government estimated that only 42.18 TMC of water is currently available for use across major and medium reservoirs in Telangana.

In the Godavari basin, the state has 7 major and 28 medium reservoirs. The report said 37.21 TMC is under dead storage, while only 27.69 TMC is available for use.

The situation is more critical in the Krishna basin. Telangana has 2 major and 8 medium reservoirs in the basin, where 136.53 TMC is under dead storage and only 14.81 TMC remains available for use.

Telangana water crisis linked to low reservoir levels

The government stated that no additional water could be expected unless upstream areas receive sufficient rainfall and flood inflows replenish the reservoirs. Until then, authorities have indicated that the existing water will be reserved mainly for drinking purposes.

The contingency report highlighted the pressure on the state’s water resources as reservoir storage continues to remain low. Officials are expected to monitor rainfall and inflows closely during the monsoon to assess any improvement in water availability.