India's tracked reservoirs added 15.0 km³ of water in the week to 6 August 2026 — the single biggest weekly gain of this monsoon. Across the 156 reservoirs the Central Water Commission's weekly bulletin covered on both 30 July and 6 August, combined live storage rose from 80,038 to 95,068 million m³, lifting the same-set fill from 36.2% to 43.0%. This week the monsoon band finally did its work where it was most needed — the southern Krishna and Cauvery basins that had spent the season emptying. Srisailam on the Krishna leapt 19% → 64%, Krishnaraja Sagara 22% → 47% and Tungabhadra 26% → 51%. 106 of the 156 reservoirs rose; 11 fell. And for the first time this season the gap to last year is closing rather than widening — from 17 points behind 2025 a week ago to 14 points now. Live figures for every dam are on the India page.
Key takeaways
- +15,030 million m³ in one week (30 July → 6 August 2026). Same-source CWC readings across an identical 156-reservoir set; combined fill rose 36.2% → 43.0%, the steepest seven-day gain of the 2026 monsoon. Live data on the India page.
- 106 reservoirs rose, 11 fell, 39 held flat. The refill moved south: Telangana's tracked set added +17.8 points of weighted fill, Karnataka +15.3, Gujarat +14.2.
- The southern giants finally turned. Srisailam 19.4% → 63.5% (+2.65 km³, the largest single gain in the country), Ukai 39.5% → 75.1%, Krishnaraja Sagara 21.6% → 47.2% and Tungabhadra 26.4% → 51.3% — the Krishna, Cauvery and Tapi systems that had fallen furthest behind.
- The deficit to 2025 is shrinking. On the 133 reservoirs with a CWC reading near this date in both years, storage is 43.7% now against 57.7% a year ago — a 14-point gap, down from 17 points on 30 July. It is the first week of the season the gap narrowed.
- Two things did not move. Hirakud fell 56% → 41% on flood-cushion releases, and Nagarjuna Sagar sits at 3.1% of live storage — still the emptiest big reservoir in the country going into the monsoon's second half.
Where the data comes from — and how we compare weeks honestly
Both readings in every comparison below come from the same source: the Central Water Commission's weekly Reservoir Storage Bulletin (30 July and 6 August 2026 editions), which reports live storage for ~166 major reservoirs nationwide. We compare a reservoir's two bulletin readings only with each other — never a bulletin figure against a state-portal figure — because different agencies measure against different storage bases, and the mismatch can masquerade as a huge change. Nagarjuna Sagar is the standing example: it reads in the 30s on Andhra Pradesh's AP-WRIMS portal and 3.1% of live storage in the CWC bulletin, because the two count different volumes. Neither is wrong; they answer different questions, so we never chart them as a single trend. The 156 reservoirs in this analysis are exactly those with a CWC reading in both weeks; reservoirs the bulletin covered only once are excluded. Our sourcing rules are on the methodology page.
The week the monsoon reached the south
For most of this monsoon the story was a fast refill everywhere except the southern peninsula, where the Krishna and Cauvery headwaters stayed dry and their big dams kept emptying. This week that reversed. The largest gains, by both percentage and stored volume, landed squarely on the systems that had fallen furthest behind:
Srisailam is the headline in every sense: it added 2.65 km³ of water in seven days — more than any other reservoir in the country — going from nearly empty to nearly two-thirds full as upstream inflows down the Krishna finally arrived. Ukai on the Tapi added 2.35 km³, and Sardar Sarovar on the Narmada put on nearly 1 km³ (50.8% → 67.7%). These four large dams alone account for well over a third of the week's national gain — this was a refill led by big reservoirs, not the small-dam percentage swings of earlier weeks.
State by state: a monsoon map in numbers
Weighted fill across each state's CWC-tracked reservoirs, week over week:
| State |
Reservoirs |
30 Jul |
6 Aug |
Change |
| Telangana |
7 |
12.5% |
30.3% |
+17.8 |
| Karnataka |
18 |
56.2% |
71.5% |
+15.3 |
| Gujarat |
17 |
31.6% |
45.8% |
+14.2 |
| Maharashtra |
35 |
64.2% |
71.0% |
+6.8 |
| Uttarakhand |
3 |
33.8% |
40.3% |
+6.6 |
| Chhattisgarh |
6 |
55.9% |
61.9% |
+6.0 |
| Madhya Pradesh |
12 |
38.3% |
40.9% |
+2.6 |
| Jharkhand |
7 |
14.4% |
16.2% |
+1.8 |
| Uttar Pradesh |
6 |
15.2% |
16.8% |
+1.6 |
| Odisha |
11 |
35.9% |
36.2% |
+0.4 |
| Andhra Pradesh |
4 |
29.8% |
28.2% |
−1.5 |
Read top to bottom, this is a weather map. The monsoon band that had ignored the south all season finally sat over the Krishna and Cauvery catchments and the Tapi–Narmada basins of Gujarat: Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat each added 14 to 18 points in a single week. The northern plains still lag — Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand barely moved and remain the lowest large states, at 17% and 16%. The one large state still losing ground is Andhra Pradesh, whose CWC-tracked set slipped 1.5 points: its share of the Krishna delta dams draws down on irrigation faster than the inflows now filling Srisailam upstream have reached them.
Where the water is still going down
Only 11 reservoirs fell, and the list separates operational drawdowns from genuine shortfalls:
| Reservoir |
State |
30 Jul |
6 Aug |
Change |
| Hirakud |
Odisha |
56.4% |
41.1% |
−15.3 |
| Almatti |
Karnataka |
90.7% |
83.6% |
−7.1 |
| Somasila |
Andhra Pradesh |
30.5% |
27.1% |
−3.4 |
Hirakud and Almatti are operational: both are large dams that had filled fast and are now passing water downstream — Hirakud cushioning the Mahanadi against floods, Almatti releasing the upper Krishna toward the very Srisailam that gained most this week. Somasila in the Krishna delta is the different story, still drawing down on irrigation while it waits for inflows that have reached the middle Krishna but not yet the tail. A mid-monsoon fall is not automatically a drought signal — releases are decisions as much as weather outcomes.
The gap to last year, and the El Niño overhang
This is the first week of the 2026 monsoon that clearly narrowed the deficit to 2025 rather than just lifting both years in parallel. On the 133 reservoirs with a CWC reading near 6 August in both years, storage is 43.7% now against 57.7% a year ago — a 14-point gap, down from 17 points on 30 July.
Whether that keeps closing depends heavily on the monsoon's second half, which now runs into a strengthening El Niño. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has an El Niño Advisory in force, with an 81% chance of a very strong event by the October–December quarter, and El Niño years tilt the odds toward a weaker Indian monsoon. It is a tendency, not a verdict — 2026 has kept filling reservoirs despite it — but it is the clearest reason a 14-point deficit could stall in September rather than close. We unpack what the event means for reservoirs worldwide in El Niño and the world's reservoirs.
FAQ
How full are India's reservoirs right now? As of the Central Water Commission's 6 August 2026 bulletin, the 156 major reservoirs tracked on both of the last two bulletins stood at 43.0% of combined live capacity, up from 36.2% a week earlier. Live per-reservoir figures are on the India page.
How much did they gain this week? About 15.0 km³ of live storage in seven days — the biggest weekly gain of the 2026 monsoon — with 106 of 156 tracked reservoirs rising and only 11 falling.
Is India still behind last year? Yes, but by less. On the reservoirs comparable across both years, storage is 43.7% against 57.7% a year ago — a 14-point deficit, down from 17 points a week earlier, and the first week of the season the gap has narrowed.
Which reservoirs gained the most this week? By stored volume, Srisailam (+2.65 km³) and Ukai (+2.35 km³); by percentage, Srisailam again (19% → 64%) alongside Krishnaraja Sagara and Tungabhadra, the southern systems that had fallen furthest behind.
Why is Nagarjuna Sagar showing 3%? That is the figure for live storage in the CWC national bulletin — the water available above the dam's minimum operating level. Andhra Pradesh's portal reports a higher percentage against a different reference volume. We use the CWC bulletin consistently so week-to-week comparisons stay on one measurement basis; see the methodology note above.
Where does this data come from? The Central Water Commission weekly Reservoir Storage Bulletin, the official national record for India's major reservoirs. See how we get our data: India.
This is a weekly monsoon update. The previous edition is the tracker for 23 July; the fuller monthly picture is in India reservoir levels, August 2026; and the global outlook is in El Niño and the world's reservoirs.
