Powai lake overflows after heavy rainfall on July 7, 2022. (PTI)With monsoon at its peak and wreaking havoc, water level in 3,267 dams across Maharashtra has recorded a 21.52 per cent increase till mid-July as compared to last year for the same period.
As against the total capacity of 40,779,220 million litres, the water storage has crossed 21,009,610 million litres, which means the dams are at 51.52 per cent of their capacity. A year ago, it stood at only 30 per cent.
The sharp rise in water levels in dams is being attributed to the incessant rainfall that the state has received over the last 10 days. The Jayakwadi dam in Paithan district of the drought-prone Marathwada region currently has 1,247,270 million litres of water as against its maximum capacity of 2,170,930 million litres. The water level in Jayakwadi dam, which is the main source for irrigation, drinking and industrial use in eight districts of the Marathwada region, is 22.45 per cent more this monsoon. Currently, the water storage in this dam is at 57.45 per cent as compared to 35 per cent till mid-July last year.
Gosikhurd, which is the biggest dam in Vidarbha region, has shown a marginal increase in its level at 3.82 per cent. At 2,72,490 million litres, the water level of this dam is currently at 36.82 per cent, up frm 33 per cent this time, last year. The Gosikhurd dam has the maximum water storage capacity at 7,40,000 million litres.
The coastal Konkan region has the lowest number of dams at 176. The water storage in its dams is the highest. As against last year’s 40 per cent, the water level currently stands at 76.19 per cent. The total water storage capacity in these dams is 3,511,000 million litres. The Konkan region, which has received the highest quantum of rain this monsoon, has seen a significant spike in water levels in all its dams. At present, the combined water level of the dams in the Konkan region is 2,674,860 million litres.
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The Marathwada region which has eight districts — Aurangabad, Beed, Latur, Parbhani, Jalna, Osmanabad, Hingoli and Nanaded — has the highest number of dams at 964. As against its optimum storage capacity of 7,259,000 million litres, the water level now is at 3,224,400 million litres. The water storage in the dams has increased by 15 .42 per cent. As against last year’s 29 per cent, the combined water storage is currently at 44.42 per cent.
Although heavy rains have lashed Beed, Nanded, Aurangabad, Jalna and Latur, adversely impacting agricultural land; the overall rise in water level in its dam is the lowest compared to other regions.
The Amravati and Nagpur divisions, which fall within the Vidarbha region, are in the throes of a farm crisis round the year. At least six out of eleven districts in these two divisions are always reeling under agricultural distress, often leading to farmer suicides. However, with moderate rainfall this monsoon, the water level in dams in the region has increased. In the Nagpur division, which has 384 dams, the water storage is at 51.20 per cent, up from 35 per cent last season. The current water storage is 16.20 per cent more than last year. Similarly, the 446 dams in the Amravati division are currently at a storage level of 52.36 per cent, much higher than 36 per cent last year. The rise is 16.24 per cent compared to last year.
In the Nashik region, which has experienced floods with the Godavari river crossing the danger level following heavy rainfall in the district, the combined water storage of 571 dams is at 3,002,110 million litres. These dams are built to hold upto 5,823,000 million litres of water. Last year, water storage dropped to just 20 per cent. So far, the level has crossed 50.51 per cent, marking a huge jump of 31.56 per cent.
In Pune division of western Maharashtra, the dams are presently at satisfactory levels of storage. With an increase of 21.15 per cent, the 726 dams are currently at 50.15 per cent of capacity as compared to 29 per cent a year ago. In actual terms, against their combined water storage capacity of 15,199,000 million litres, they already have 7,622,310 million litres.
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