2 weeks ago
Tamil Nadu reservoir storage falls to 37% amid weak monsoon
Tamil Nadu is a state in India that gets water from big lakes called reservoirs.
These reservoirs store rainwater so people can use it for farming and drinking.
This year, the rainy season called the southwest monsoon did not bring enough rain.
It was also very hot, which made the water dry up faster.
Because of this, the reservoirs in Tamil Nadu are only about 37 percent full.
Last year at the same time, they were more than twice as full.
Many reservoirs have very little water, and only one small reservoir is completely full.
The most important reservoir, called Mettur, has less than half the water it had last year.
This means farmers and people in some areas may not have enough water.
The state is hoping for better rain later in the year to fill the reservoirs again.
Tamil Nadu's 90 monitored reservoirs held 83.124 tmcft, or 37.05% of their 224.343 tmcft capacity, as of Monday.
Current storage is less than half of the 189.545 tmcft recorded at the same time last year.
58 of the 90 reservoirs have less than 25% storage, and only the Gundar reservoir in Tenkasi district is full.
Mettur reservoir, key to Cauvery delta irrigation, held 43.275 tmcft (46.30% of capacity), down from 91.114 tmcft last year.
Karnataka released less than the stipulated Cauvery share, with Tamil Nadu receiving 2.915 tmcft in June and 0.7138 tmcft in July.
- Who
- Tamil Nadu's Water Resources Department and residents and farmers in reservoir-dependent districts; Karnataka's Cauvery-linked reservoirs are comparatively healthy.
- What
- Reservoir storage across Tamil Nadu fell to 37.05% of capacity due to a weak southwest monsoon and high temperatures.
- Where
- Tamil Nadu, India, including the Cauvery delta region and Tenkasi district.
- When
- As of Monday, during the current southwest monsoon season.
- Why
- An underperforming southwest monsoon and unusually high temperatures strained the state's water resources.
Key facts
- Reservoirs monitored
- 90
- Combined storage
- 83.124 tmcft
- Storage as % of capacity
- 37.05%
- Combined capacity
- 224.343 tmcft
- Storage same period last year
- 189.545 tmcft
- Mettur reservoir storage
- 43.275 tmcft (46.30% of capacity)
- Reservoirs below 25% storage
- 58
- Cauvery release shortfall
- Received 2.915 tmcft (June) and 0.7138 tmcft (July) vs required 9.190 and 31.240 tmcft









