••Early completion of the Polavaram project is the only solution
••Now only 0.43 TMC water is available in Pulichintala
••Srisailam Reservoir maintains 14 percent
••Nagarjuna Sagar project 39 percent of total capacity
The Capital News
Amaravati: The major reservoirs in the Krishna basin are almost empty in the current summer season. The water levels are sounding alarm to the future water crisis and also categorically show the importance of early completion of the Polavaram project in the Godavari basin.
The present water trends are causing extreme difficulty in managing irrigation water needs during the coming Kharif season. The Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar, and Pulichintala projects on the river Krishna have reached dead storage levels.
The total storage capacity of various major and medium reservoirs constructed on the river Krishna is 589.67 TMCs, but the current storage is 160.17 (27.16%) TMCs, compared to last year’s 226.8 (38.46%) TMCs during the same time. This year, around 66.50TMCs less water is stored in the reservoirs compared to the last year.
The lack of a water storage management system in advance has led to the reservoirs reaching dead storage levels this year. As a result, the release of water into the canals to commence agriculture during the Kharif season may be delayed this year. The Water Resources Department has been preoccupied with the general elections, impacting the water release schedule.
The KL Rao Sagar, also known as Pulichintala Project, the main source for the Krishna Delta, has gone to dead storage level, with only 0.43 TMCs of water as against its Full Reservoir level of 45.77 TMCs storage. The Pulichintala Project was designed to store around 45.77 TMCs of water at a level of 175 feet. Currently, the project level is at 95.14 feet and has stored 0.43 TMCs of water.
Last year, around 34.76 TMCs of water were stored at this time. If the project’s storage reaches 3.61 TMCs, it will go into the dead storage level, and currently, with the storage at 0.43 TMCs, there is no scope to release water downstream from the project.
The Pulichintala Project is the main source for the Krishna Delta, and due to insufficient water storage, the water release will be delayed, affecting around 13.08 lakh acres of ayacut in this Kharif season. The Water Resources Department officials indicated that if the southwest monsoon arrives in advance and brings rains, the Kharif season will commence early.
Similarly, the Srisailam project has almost reached dead storage, with the current storage at 32.20 TMCs (14.92%) as against the total storage capacity of 215.81 TMCs. There will be no chance to release water even for drinking purpose.
Nagarjuna Sagar has also reached the dead storage stage, with 123.01 TMCs (39.42%) of water stored as against the total storage of 312.05 TMCs. In 2023, around 150.19 TMCs of water were stored, and currently, 28 TMCs of water are less compared to the previous year’s storage.
Even major reservoirs such as Almatti, Narayanpur, Tunga Bhadra, and other projects on the river Krishna are facing water storage problems. Unless the rains come early, experts believe that the ayacut in the Krishna River catchment area will face severe hurdles in starting agricultural activities.
The previous year’s short rainfall caused major reservoirs to go empty against their full capacity, said a senior irrigation official. He further said that the previous government did not take alternative steps to store water. He suggested the governments to complete the Polavaram project as early as possible. If Polavaram is completed there is no need to depend upon Krishna Basin which has a huge demand from upstream states.