Sardar Sarovar Dam nears full capacity; water level crosses 138.32 metres

Gandhinagar: The lifeline of Gujarat, Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River is nearing its full reservoir level, with its water level crossing 138.32 metres on Wednesday, just 36 centimetres below its maximum level of 138.68 metres.

According to the Gujarat Water Resources Department’s report dated September 23, the dam is currently 98.77% full, with 9,344.06 million cubic metres (MCM) of water stored against its gross storage capacity of 9,460 MCM.

The dam is on high alert and is receiving an inflow of more than 41,000 cusecs following rainfall in the Narmada catchment. The report shows that 11,815 cusecs is being released through the Canal Head Power House, while 619 cusecs is being discharged downstream into the river through the Godbole gates.

32 dams completely filled across Gujarat

Meanwhile, the state’s 206 dams, excluding Sardar Sarovar, are collectively 71.60% full, with 11,310.89 MCM of gross storage against a design capacity of 15,797.56 MCM. As many as 32 dams have reached 100% storage.

South Gujarat has the highest regional storage at 84.86%, followed by Central Gujarat at 71.16% and Saurashtra at 51.61%. North Gujarat’s reservoirs are 46.67% full, while Kutch has the lowest storage at 31.35%.

The overall storage position of Gujarat’s 207 reservoirs, including Sardar Sarovar, stands at 81.78%, with 20,654.95 MCM of water stored against a total design capacity of 25,257.56 MCM.

47 dams under high alert

The department’s dam-wise statement shows 47 reservoirs under high-alert status, including several that have reached 100% storage. These include Shetrunji in Bhavnagar, Damanganga in Valsad and Karjan in Narmada, along with several reservoirs in Amreli, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Dahod and other districts.

The report also lists the state’s second-largest dam, Ukai, at 83.32% storage and under alert, with an inflow of 6,117 cusecs and combined river and canal releases of 6,117 cusecs.

Damanganga, meanwhile, is at 98.10% storage and remains under high alert. DeshGujarat