5 min readVadodaraJun 24, 2023 02:30 AM IST
First published on: Jun 24, 2023 at 02:29 AM IST
Even as the major reservoirs of Gujarat report depleting reserves ahead of the onset of monsoon, the state’s water storage level has seen only a small decline since May 15 — thanks to the rise in the level of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada and the gross storage of dams in North Gujarat and Kutch by 10 per cent and 17 per cent respectively due to Cyclone Biparjoy.
As per the data from the Water Resources and Water Supply Department of Gujarat state, until June 22, 207 major dams, including the Sardar Sarovar in Narmada, have a collective reserve of 39.55 per cent of the total capacity of 25,265 Million Cubic Metres (MCM), and available live storage of only 25.22 per cent — the volume of water that is assumed to be for the period of the demand above the minimum pool level of a dam. The minimum pool level is also referred to as the dead storage of the dam.
Sardar Sarovar, which stood at 117.13 m on May 15, has seen an inflow of water from Madhya Pradesh. This took the water level to 119.17 m on June 22, cutting back the deficit of the water storage in the state.
The increase in the level of Sardar Sarovar can be linked to the decision of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) in February to award 11.7 Million Acre Feet (MAF) share to Gujarat in the current water year as against the usual 9 MAF reward adjudicated by the NCA. “Since the water year is counted from July 1 to June 30 every year, the decision has meant that the surplus water awarded by the NCA has been released by MP during hydropower generation at Indirasagar and Omkareshwar dams. Therefore, this water is now available to the state of Gujarat and it will ensure that there is no looming water crisis if the monsoon is a bit delayed,” an official of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) said.
The current available gross storage of Sardar Sarovar is 4,799 MCM as compared to 4,508.07 MCM on May 15. This year– the figure is also 584 MCM higher than the gross storage of the dam on June 22, 2022, which stood at 4,215 MCM.
The dam, which has a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 138.68 m has a gross storage capacity of 9,460 MCM, out of which 5,760 MCM is the live storage capacity. At 110 m of water level, the dam begins to draw from its dead storage. Sardar Sarovar now has 19.09 per cent live storage available as compared to 14.03 per cent of live storage on May 15.
The total water reserve of 9,991.41 MCM in Gujarat on June 22 has reported a deficit of 465.72 MCM as compared to a deficit of 799.61 MCM, which was recorded on May 15.
Dams in North Gujarat, which had 35.61 per cent water available on May 15 this year have also seen an increase in the filling by over 10 per cent on June 22 due to heavy rain witnessed in the area following Cyclone Biparjoy.
While none of the 15 dams in North Gujarat are completely filled, the overall gross storage has gone up to 903 MCM, which is 46.77 per cent of the total storage. The four districts of North Gujarat — Aravalli, Banaskantha, Mehsana and Sabarkantha — have present live storage of 42.94 per cent, which is higher by 31 per cent recorded on May 15. The region of Kutch– with 20 dams in total– has a similar story to tell.
The overall storage of Kutch is poised at 161.57 MCM on June 22, which is 48.63 per cent filling capacity– up by over 17 per cent since May 15 this year when it stood at 31.35 per cent. The dams in Kutch had only 65.10 MCM of water on June 22, 2022. On the other hand, Central and South Gujarat as well as Saurashtra have recorded a significant decrease in the overall storage as well as the live storage in the dams in the regions. Central Gujarat has a gross storage of 30.48 per cent, of which 26.44 per cent is live storage on June 22 as compared to a gross storage of 35.72 per cent with 31.95 per cent live storage on May 15. South Gujarat, which had 46.82 per cent gross storage and 41.67 per cent live storage on May 15, currently has a total storage of 33.83 per cent and live storage of 27.55 per cent on June 22.
In South Gujarat, which has 13 dams, excluding Sardar Sarovar, 2,915 MCM available gross storage out of the total capacity of 8,624.78 MCM on June 22, has recorded a deficit of nearly 728 MCM as compared to June 22, 2022, when the South Gujarat dams had 3,643.35 MCM storage.
The four districts of North Gujarat -- Aravalli, Banaskantha, Mehsana and Sabarkantha -- have present live storage of 42.94 per cent, which is higher by 31 per cent recorded on May 15 (Express Photo) 
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