Hyderabad Srisailam Water Levels Rise But Full Storage Unlikely
The Srisailam reservoir is unlikely to reach its full storage capacity this spell as inflows from the Krishna basin have dropped sharply. The decline comes even as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana continue drawing water, putting the reservoir’s remaining storage within a tighter operating window.
At 6 pm on Sunday, Srisailam was receiving about 1,01,384 cusecs, while its storage stood at 181.05 TMC against a full capacity of 215.8 TMC. The reservoir therefore had roughly 34 TMC of additional space before reaching its maximum level. The pace of inflow has changed considerably. Water entering the reservoir had touched nearly 20 TMC a day during the previous week. It has since fallen below 10 TMC a day, indicating that the current flood pulse is weakening. Upstream conditions are also contributing to the decline. The Almatti reservoir in Karnataka was receiving about 1,04,777 cusecs and releasing 42,500 cusecs into the Krishna. Narayanpur was receiving 42,000 cusecs and releasing 35,000 cusecs downstream. At Jurala in Telangana, inflows stood at around 57,000 cusecs, with nearly 44,279 cusecs being released towards Srisailam. These figures show how changes at upstream reservoirs can quickly affect water availability further downstream.
Water withdrawals by the two Telugu States are another factor. Andhra Pradesh was drawing 8,000 cusecs through the Pothireddypadu head regulator and 2,500 cusecs through the Handri-Neeva system. A further 4,563 cusecs was being used for power generation at the right power house. Telangana was drawing around 2,400 cusecs through the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme. Combined withdrawals by both States stood at 17,463 cusecs. Officials expect Srisailam’s inflows to fall further, potentially reaching around 44,000 cusecs. If that trend continues, the reservoir may not receive enough water to close the remaining storage gap. The situation matters beyond reservoir levels. Srisailam is an important component of the Krishna basin’s irrigation and hydropower system. Water availability here affects downstream projects, agricultural operations and drinking-water planning across parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The changing inflow pattern also highlights the importance of basin-level water management. Reservoir operations cannot be viewed in isolation when multiple projects and States depend on the same river system. Meanwhile, water released through power generation at Srisailam was contributing around 13,435 cusecs to Nagarjuna Sagar. This demonstrates the continuing movement of water through the interconnected Krishna reservoir system. For the region, the immediate focus will be on how quickly upstream inflows weaken and how the two States manage withdrawals. With the reservoir still below full capacity, careful coordination will be important if the current flood season fails to deliver another significant inflow surge.
