Reservoir · Tamil Nadu · India · Tamil Nadu WRD
Cholavaram
13.3% of gross capacity
Gross capacity
1.1 TMC (31 MCM)
Live capacity
1.1 TMC (31 MCM)
Basin
Chennai
Primary use
water supply
Operator
Tamil Nadu Water Resources Dept
Coordinates
13.222°N, 80.154°E
Last updated
2026-10-28
Capacity in TMC
Cholavaram Dam has a gross capacity of 1.1 TMC (31 MCM); it is currently at 13.3% of gross capacity, holding 0.14 TMC (4 MCM).
- Gross capacity
- 1.1 TMC (31 MCM)
- Live capacity
- 1.1 TMC (31 MCM)
- Current storage
- 0.14 TMC (4 MCM)
TMC is thousand million cubic feet, the unit used in Indian water reporting. 1 TMC = 28.3168 million cubic metres (MCM). Figures are converted from Tamil Nadu WRD, which publishes million cubic metres. The percentage is labelled live or gross only when the stored volume matches that capacity.
Current fill
13.3%vs 7 days ago
N/Avs 1 year ago
N/A7-day trend
N/ADrought context
Rain over the last three months · 11 October 2026
Moderately dry
In the three months to 11 October 2026 the area around Cholavaram had well below normal rain, a shortfall seen about one year in six. Rainfall compared with the long-run record for the same season at this point (Copernicus Global Drought Observatory, SPI-3 index −1.31). Rain, not storage. India drought figures →
Weekly storage
Fill history — multi-year
About this reservoir
Data source
official
Storage data: Tamil Nadu WRD.
Catchment Weather
Past 30 days + 14-day forecast · Open-Meteo
Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics. Map: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors. 13.222°N, 80.154°E · Open in Google Maps
About Cholavaram
As of October 28, 2026, Cholavaram is filled to 13.3% of its gross capacity, holding 0.14 TMC (4 MCM) of a gross 1.1 TMC (31 MCM). At this level the reservoir is critically low.
No reading from about a week earlier is on file, so the 7-day change is not available.
Across the readings we hold for Cholavaram — 9 data points between July 2, 2026 and October 28, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 8.3% (July 2, 2026) to a high of 13.8% (September 11, 2026).
It is operated by Tamil Nadu Water Resources Dept primarily for water supply. It lies within the Chennai basin at 13.222°N, 80.154°E.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 13.3% of total capacity
- Water stored
- 0.14 TMC (4 MCM)
- Total capacity
- 1.1 TMC (31 MCM)
- 7-day change
- N/A
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River basin
- Chennai
- Operator
- Tamil Nadu Water Resources Dept
- Coordinates
- 13.222°N, 80.154°E
- Last updated
- October 28, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Oct 2026 | 13.3% | 4 |
| 24 Sep 2026 | 13.1% | 4 |
| 18 Sep 2026 | 13.7% | 4 |
| 11 Sep 2026 | 13.8% | 4 |
| 4 Sep 2026 | 11.8% | 4 |
| 30 Aug 2026 | 11.8% | 4 |
| 22 Aug 2026 | 10.6% | 3 |
| 14 Aug 2026 | 10.6% | 3 |
| 2 Jul 2026 | 8.3% | 3 |