Krishna and Godavari basins witness historic inflows in 2025-26 water year
Telangana has experienced an extraordinary monsoon season, with rainfall 35% above normal from June to November. The extended rains, driven by Cyclone Montha and Bay of Bengal systems, have led to record-breaking inflows in major reservoirs across the Krishna and Godavari basins.
Hyderabad: What began as a normal start to the rainy season turned this year into an unrelenting deluge in the State. From June through November, Telangana has been lashed by 35% above-normal rainfall, transforming the State into a waterlogged expanse and filling reservoirs to levels not seen in decades.
The southwest monsoon, traditionally confined to June through September, was officially withdrawn on October 15, but the rains persisted even in November. Post-monsoon showers, fueled by a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal and the remnants of Cyclone Montha, have poured an additional 20% excess in October alone.
The prolonged monsoon triggered unprecedented flood flows into reservoirs within the Krishna and Godavari basins this year. Officials report that several key projects, including Jurala, Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar in the Krishna basin and Singur, Nizam Sagar, Sriram Sagar and Yellampalli, have received their highest-ever inflows, adding to the storage levels in a big way and raising hopes for robust irrigation in the coming season.
In irrigation parlance, the “water year” spans from June 1 to May 31. While the 2015-16 period saw the lowest historical inflows in these basins, the current 2025-26 water year has shattered records, with inflows surpassing previous benchmarks across multiple dams. Krishna Basin witnessed all-time highs, according to officials.
The Jurala project had a cumulative inflow of 1,583 TMCs of water, while Srisailam received 2,280 TMCs and the Nagarjuna Sagar project 1,766 TMCs. In the Godavari basin, the Sriram Sagar project had a cumulative inflow of 930 TMCs.
The cumulative inflows into Singur stood at 232 TMCs, and Nizam Sagar and Sripada Yellampalli accounted for 308 TMCs and 1,450 TMCs, with the upper stretch of the Godavari witnessing heavy flood flows in the second half of the monsoon period.
The Srisailam reservoir in the Krishna basin has witnessed cumulative inflows of a staggering 2,278.47 TMC so far this season, breaking its prior record of 2,039.23 TMC set in 1994-95.
Construction on the project began in the 1960s and was completed on July 26, 1980.
The present storage of the project stands at 209 TMC as against the gross storage capacity of 215 TMC. Nagarjuna Sagar has received 1,766.24 TMC of inflows to date, ranking as the fourth highest in its history. The dam’s peak of 2,639.9 TMC was recorded during the 1975-76 floods. The deluge has also prompted massive releases downstream.
Even after Andhra Pradesh tapped the maximum to meet its needs, over 1,628 TMC of Krishna waters was let into the Bay of Bengal, and it is considered the highest since 1990-91. This surpasses the previous high of 1,331.55 TMC released in 2022-23.
In Godavari Basin, almost all the reservoirs are equally brimming. Singur dam, which logged 232.49 TMC, could surpass its earlier record of 176.56 TMC in 1998-99.
Nizam Sagar project (which saw 308 TMC) recorded its second highest behind the 1983-84 peak of 328.93 TMC.
For Sriram Sagar, cumulative inflows that touched 930 TMC registered the third highest on record after 1,168.57 TMC in 1983-84 and 928.18 TMC in 1988-89.
For the Yellampalli Project, the 1,445 TMC of cumulative inflow is considered to be its all-time high on record. This tops the 2022-23 figure of 1,235.76 TMC and the 2021-22 inflow of 1,077.23 TMC.
