CHENNAI: South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, is facing a severe water crisis this summer as the live storage level in reservoirs has dropped to 16 per cent out of its total storage capacity of 53.334 billion cubic feet (bcm). It is less than 8 percentage points of the national average.

Central Water Commission (CWC) has been monitoring the live storage status of 150 reservoirs, with a total storage capacity of 257.812 bcm, across the nation. The live storage available in these reservoirs is 50.432 bcm, accounting for 28 per cent of the total storage capacity, according to the Commission’s report published on May 2.

The cumulative water storage in 42 reservoirs, which have been monitored by the CWC, in the Southern region — comprising Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala — is 8.353 bcm as against the total storage capacity of 53.334 bcm. The storage is minimal when compared to the corresponding period of last year (28 %) and the average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period (22 %), according to the CWC’s recent bulletin.

Though the water level declined in other regions (Central, Western, Eastern, and Northern) too, they were placed better than the southern region. The live storage in other regions ranges between 29.8 % and 36 %. On January 4, the live storage in major reservoirs across the nation stood at 69.35% (178.784 bcm). It plummeted to 16% in the south. Tamil Nadu, in particular, the departure of normal storage declined from -23% in January this year to -43% early this month.