Water level in 75% reservoirs in India less than 40% of their capacity: CWC data

Tags: Reports

Recent data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) reveals that 110 out of the 146 monitored reservoirs have water levels at or below 40% of their total capacities.

An Overview of the news

Based on data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the following observations have been made:

• Around 33% of the 717 districts with available data have experienced deficient rainfall till July 4, while for an additional 10% of districts, the situation is even worse.

• As of June 30, the water levels in reservoirs across 10 states are lower than their respective 30-year average levels.

• The deficiency in water levels ranges from 11% to 80% in states such as Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Tripura, and Nagaland.

• However, it is worth noting that the current water levels are comparatively better than the average levels observed over the past 10 years.

About Central Water Commission:

• The organization is a prestigious technical institution in India that specializes in the field of water resources.

• Currently, it operates as an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, which falls under the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation of the Government of India.

• Headed by a Chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.

Functions of Central Water Commission:

• General responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for the purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development.

• The Commission is responsible for conducting investigations, as well as overseeing the construction and execution of various schemes as needed.

• The Commission's work is organized into three wings: Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, River Management (RM) Wing, and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing.

• Each wing is headed by a full-time Member who holds the position of Ex-Officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India.