Water levels in dams and reservoirs have dropped to 61.7 percent

20-Feb-2026 01:50 PM

New Delhi. Due to lack of rainfall and unregulated discharges, the water level in the country's 166 major dams and reservoirs has dropped to 113.16 billion cubic meters (BCM), representing 61.7 percent of their total storage capacity. However, this storage is still 11.6 percentage points higher than the same period last year and 25.4 percentage points higher than the 10-year average.

The water stock in dams in the northern region is 11.33 BCM, representing 57 percent of their total storage capacity. Last year, only 30.2 percent of the water stock remained in these reservoirs. States like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab are located in the northern region.

The water level in reservoirs in the eastern part of the country has dropped to 12.91 BCM, representing 58.3 percent of their total storage capacity. This water level was recorded at 55.6 percent during the same period last year. The states of the Eastern Zone include Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.

In the Western Zone, dams and reservoirs have a remaining stock of 27.68 BCM, which is 72.7 percent of their total storage capacity. Last year, these dams had a stock of 67.7 percent. There is still a good stock of water available in the reservoirs of states like Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. In the central region, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have a stock of 65.6 percent of their storage capacity, while in South India, the stock has decreased to 53 percent.