BENGALURU: Karnataka is heading into the post-southwest monsoon months with nearly 30% less water in its reservoirs than a year ago, raising concerns over drinking water security.The state faces a 30% monsoon rainfall deficit, with 226 of its 240 taluks declared drought-hit, even as TN presses for the release of 11tmcft of pending Cauvery water.Data from the Karnataka Water Resources Information System on Oct 15 showed storage in 23 reservoirs stood at 297tmcft, against 425tmcft on the same date last year.Concern over water scarcity usually surfaces in Jan, but this time, the situation has become precarious well before the turn of the year. CM D K Shivakumar has warned of water and power shortages in the coming months, saying drought is likely to worsen and urged people to prepare for difficult times.A senior official said though falling storage did not automatically signal an immediate drinking water crisis, much would depend on managing available resources.Reservoirs serve multiple purposes, and the impact varies with local sources, distribution infrastructure and demand. Bengaluru’s water security will depend on managing available storage, downstream releases, groundwater levels and retreating monsoon, while monitoring consumption, reducing leakages, protecting local sources and preparing contingency plans for vulnerable settlements,” he said.The Cauvery basin, which supplies Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and other towns, is worse off. Its four reservoirs held 38.3 tmcft of live storage, against 61.6 tmcft last year — a fall of nearly 38%.Krishna basin, serving northern Karnataka, is relatively better-placed this time, though its 17 reservoirs held 258 tmcft — down 23% from 334 tmcft.KRS, a key source for Cauvery command area and Bengaluru, stood around 100.6 feet Thursday against its full level of 124.8 feet. Its storage of about 23.5 tmcft is less than half its capacity of 49.5 tmcft.
