Himachal’s Dams Hold Strong Amid Monsoon; Most Reservoirs Within Safe Limits
SHIMLA, JULY 18 – In the heart of monsoon season, Himachal Pradesh's hydropower and irrigation dams are holding steady.
According to the daily dam status report issued at 7 pm on July 18, all major reservoirs across the Satluj, Ravi, Yamuna, and Beas basins are currently operating within safe and permissible limits, offering some respite amid weather-induced anxieties.
Most dams recorded moderate inflows and regulated outflows, with pond levels staying well below the danger marks.
Only a few showed spillway activity, indicating precautionary releases to manage inflows from upstream rainfall.
Satluj Basin: Controlled Flow, No Alarms
At the Karcham and Nathpa dams, inflows hovered around 900 cumecs with steady machine flows and spillway releases.
Bhakra Dam, one of the largest in the region, is maintaining a water level of 639.05 meters—comfortably below its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 642 meters. Weather remained cloudy, but no emergency indicators were reported.
The Kuppa Barrage and Bhaba Dam also stayed well-managed, despite continued cloud cover over the basin.
Ravi Basin: Smooth Operations Amid Cloudy Skies
The Ravi basin, comprising critical projects like Chamera I, II, and III, and the Bajoli Holi dam, reported all operations within limits.
Chamera-I, for example, was functioning with a pond level of 754.99 meters against a maximum FRL of 760 meters.
All hydropower generation activities remained on track, with no major outflows required through spillways.
Beas Basin: One Plant Shut, Others Functional
Most Beas basin dams, including Pandoh, Pong, and the Sainj barrage, reported stable reservoir levels and controlled discharge. However, Parbati-III remained shut down, and Malana-II, which had already been shut since the August 1, 2024, flash flood, continued to keep its gates open as a precaution. Despite this, no imminent safety threats were flagged.
Larji barrage reported a significant inflow of 983 cumecs, with 745 cumecs released via spillways, indicating proactive water level regulation.
Yamuna Basin: All Clear
The Sawra Kuddu project and Jateon Barrage reported minimal inflows, with machine flows matching outflow needs.
Weather conditions were clear across the Yamuna basin, adding to operational ease.
Safety Measures in Place, Monitoring Continues
Authorities have reassured that pond levels across all major dams are within operational limits.
However, concerns remain over the timeliness of data updates from certain dams (marked in yellow) and the shutdowns due to high silt levels (marked in orange). These require close coordination with dam operators.
With weather varying between cloudy and clear across different catchments, officials remain on high alert to monitor silt, inflow surges, and mechanical operations.
Hydropower and irrigation control centers continue to work in sync with the Disaster Management Authority to ensure timely response if water levels rise unexpectedly due to upstream rainfall or cloudbursts.
Himachal’s water infrastructure, for now, is coping well with the monsoon surge—but with unpredictable hill weather, continued vigilance is the key.