Karnataka’s reservoir storage has fallen by nearly 30% from last year as the state enters the post-monsoon period with a 30% rainfall deficit, raising fresh concerns about drinking water security in Bengaluru and other urban centres dependent on the Cauvery basin.
Data from the Karnataka Water Resources Information System showed that 23 reservoirs held 297 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water on October 15, compared with 425 tmcft on the same date last year. The decline comes as 226 of Karnataka’s 240 taluks have been declared drought-hit.
The situation is particularly serious in the Cauvery basin, which supplies Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and other towns. Four reservoirs in the basin held 38.3 tmcft of live storage, down from 61.6 tmcft a year earlier — a fall of nearly 38%.
The Krishna basin is relatively better placed, although its 17 reservoirs also recorded a decline. Storage stood at 258 tmcft, compared with 334 tmcft last year, representing a reduction of about 23%.
The Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir, a key source for the Cauvery command area and Bengaluru, was at around 100.6 feet on Thursday, against a full reservoir level of 124.8 feet. Its storage was approximately 23.5 tmcft, less than half its total capacity of 49.5 tmcft.
Concern over water scarcity generally intensifies in January, but the current decline has emerged before the end of the year. Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has warned of water and power shortages in the coming months, said the drought situation was likely to worsen and urged people to prepare for difficult conditions.
A senior official said falling reservoir storage did not automatically indicate an immediate drinking water crisis. The impact, the official said, would depend on how available resources were managed, noting that reservoirs serve several purposes and that local conditions vary according to water sources, distribution infrastructure and demand.
For Bengaluru, water security will depend on balancing reservoir storage, downstream releases, groundwater levels and the retreating monsoon. The city will also need to monitor consumption, reduce leakages, protect local water sources and prepare contingency plans for vulnerable settlements, according to the official cited in the report.
The water position is also unfolding amid pressure from Tamil Nadu for the release of 11 tmcft of pending Cauvery water. The state’s reservoir levels, rainfall conditions and inter-state water management will therefore remain central to planning for the coming months.
