Cumulative storage in Cauvery Basin reservoirs higher than last year 

Cauvery basin reservoirs show increased storage levels in 2025, ensuring water supply for irrigation and drinking needs.

The cumulative storage in the four major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin is more than the storage during the corresponding period last year, thanks to copious rains during the southwest and northeast monsoon in 2024.

The gross storage capacity of the four dams – Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS), Kabini, Harangi, and Hemavati -  is 114.57 thousand million cubic ft (tmcft) against which the cumulative storage was 87.80 (tmcft) as of January 24, 2025. This amounts to a storage of 77% of the installed capacity, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).

The cumulative storage on the same day last year was 48.43 tmc ft which had brought alive the spectre of drought and drinking water scarcity during the 2024 summer.

The Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) has a gross storage capacity of 49.45 tmc ft, and this year, it created a history of sorts with the reservoir remaining full for nearly six months. The water level in the reservoir was hovering at 124.80 ft which is also its full reservoir level (FRL) till early January 2025.

The KRS reservoir level on January 24th was 121.40 ft against the FRL of 124.80 ft, and the reservoir level on the same day last year was 92.08 ft. The gross storage capacity of the KRS is 49.45 tmc ft and the available storage as of January 24th, 2025, was 44.84 tmc ft, while it was 17.21 tmc ft on the same day last year.

The current depletion is because, since January 10th, 2025, water has been released into the canals to facilitate farmers to irrigate the standing crops and to ensure that fields in the tail-end region of the command area also receive water. As per the KRS Irrigation Consultative Committee, water is being released on a rotational basis in four cycles.

There will be discharge into the canals for 18 days till January 28th after which there will be no release for 12 days, and there will be four cycles of “on for 18 days” and “off for 12 days”. This is expected to bring the reservoir levels down considerably but the moot point is there is adequate water for both irrigation purposes and to meet the drinking water requirements to last through the coming summer.