The low water levels at major reservoirs in the State this year compared to last year, paint a grim picture, especially to the agriculture sector which is hugely dependent on the irrigation water.
Srisailam Reservoir
According to official information, the water level at Srisailam Reservoir is at a mere 33.62 thousand cubic feet (tmc ft) as of July 9. While its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) is 880 ft, the present water level is only 808.80 feet. It is to be noted that the water level as on July 9, last year, was a tad higher, at 823.90 ft.
A more concerning issue is that the water available in the reservoir is far below the dead storage level of 834 ft.
Nagarjuna Sagar Project
The same is the case with the Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP), another major reservoir in the State.
While the FRL of NSP is 590 ft, and the dead storage capacity is 510 ft, the water stored in the reservoir was 165 tmc (528 ft) last year on July 9, while it is only 148 tmc (519 ft) this year.
The total water stored in these two major reservoirs is 181 tmc as against the total capacity at FRL of 527 tmc (as on July 9), sources say.
Similarly, the Pulichintala, another major project (Palnadu district), has a storage capacity of 45 tmc. The water stored there was 31 tmc last year, while it is only 25 tmc this year.
Also, the water level at Galeru-Nagari Sujala Sravanthi (Somalasila) (GNSS), a major reservoir in Nellore) is 297 ft this year against 319 ft last year (on July 9). The water stored is 27 tmc against last year’s 56 tmc.
‘Will get copious inflow by mid-July’
The irrigation officials say the major reservoirs will receive considerable inflows from Karnataka by mid-July. In fact, copious inflows from the filled-up dams in Karnataka and rain in the catchment areas of major reservoirs boosted the reservoir capacity in both Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar dams in 2020, and the situation was more or less similar in subsequent years.
The nine gates of the Srisailam project were lifted by 10 feet to release the water due to the heavy flood coming into the Srisailam reservoir from its upper reaches in July last year.
But, there is hardly any inflow due to poor rains in Karnataka. Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar’s water levels are less than last year’s, says a senior official.
