Krishna reservoirs water levels fall drastically

Hyderabad: The impact of poor rains in Krishna catchment area is seen by now. All reservoirs under Krishna River are showing minimum water levels less than their MDDL (Minimum Draw Down Level).

In place of the required minimum of 600 mm rainfall in the last two weeks, only 200 mm rainfall was recorded, said the irrigation department officials. According to them, a couple of months are needed to fill all reservoirs of Krishna if they get 30 tmc ft of water from continuous rains. Reservoirs upst-ream Krishna may not release water from their minimal reserves now. At present, 19.69 tmc ft of water is available at Almatti reservoir against full capacity of 129.71 tmc ft.

Nearly 35 tmc ft of water is available in Almatti reservoir in the same period last year.

Water level currently is 834.4 feet at Srisailam as against its MDDL of 834 feet and the level is 516.9 feet at Nagarjuna Sagar as against its 510 feet MDDL level. The scanty water release is sufficient to supply water only to Andhra Pradesh. As per the estimates, at least 10 tmc ft of water is needed for drinking water purposes and another 10 tmc ft of water is required for seed beds in the coming kharif season in Krishna delta. The situation looks bleak and may worsen in the near future.