Karnataka rains: Major dams in Karnataka hit 80% storage capacity due to surge in inflows

The revival of southwest monsoon in most parts of Karnataka during the fag end of July has resulted in a surge in inflows to major reservoirs which have collectively attained over 80% of the total capacity.

Heavy rains in the catchment areas of the Cauvery and the Krishna basins have contributed to this trend as a result of which the cumulative storage across major reservoirs was 715.6 thousand million cubic ft (tmc ft) against the gross capacity of 895.62 tmc ft as on Sunday (July 27, 2025), according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).

Krishna basin inflow and storage

The Krishna basin reservoirs are witnessing a massive surge in the inflows which was at the rate of 67,607 cusecs in Tungabhadra, 60,160 cusecs at Alamatti while Narayanapura reservoir recorded inflow at the rate of 79,301 cusecs, as on Sunday morning.

The outflow from Tungabhadra dam was 90,893 cusecs, while it was 80,195 cusecs from Alamatti and 86,275 cusecs from Narayanapura dam, according to KSNDMC.

The cumulative gross storage capacity of the major dams in the Krishna basin is 422.45 tmc ft against which the storage as on Sunday was 345.76 tmc ft, which is 82% of the capacity. While the storage in Tungabhadra reservoir was 75.87 tmc ft against the capacity of 105.79 tmc ft, it was 97.55 tmc ft at Alamatti against the capacity of 123.08 tmc ft and 64.78 tmc ft against the gross capacity of 71.54 tmc ft. The storage position in other dams including Malaprabha, Ghataprabha and Narayanapura hovered between 80% and 94% of their installed capacity.

Krishna basin inflow and storage

In the Cauvery basin, the four major reservoirs are nearly full and the cumulative storage was 110.29 tmc ft against the gross capacity of 114.57 tmc ft. Krishna Raja Sagar had 48.06 tmc ft of water against the gross storage capacity of 49.45 tmc ft while Hemavathi had 36.14 tmc ft against a capacity of 37.10 tmc ft. The storage position at Kabini was 18.96 tmc ft against the capacity of 19.52 tmc ft while at Harangi the storage was 71.3 tmc ft against the capacity of 8.5 tmc ft.

The Linganamakki reservoir, vital for hydropower generation, recorded an inflow 47,155 cusecs, while its storage was 122.36 tmc ft against the capacity of 151.75 tmc ft or 81% of its installed capacity.

Water security

Hydel reservoirs — Linganamakki, Supa and Varahi — combined together hold 236.53 tmc ft or 72% of their collective capacity of 328.18 tmc ft. The present trends of high inflow combined with good storage position indicate water security for both irrigation and power generation for the coming months, according to the authorities.