The Water Resources Department (WRD) of Andhra Pradesh issued the first flood warning of this monsoon season at the Prakasam Barrage across the Krishna River, after flood discharge crossed 3.97 lakh cusecs on Tuesday morning, marking the second flood alert in just a week.
The officials said that the inflows were likely to rise further, with nearly 6 lakh cusecs anticipated as heavy releases continue from upstream reservoirs, including Almatti, Narayanapur, Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichinthala.
Meanwhile, a malfunction in the Gate 69 of the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada was reported, which had sustained damage during the floods last year.
When engineers tried to lift all 70 gates of the Prakasam Barrage to discharge the floodwater, the damaged gate could not be raised.
Irrigation Vijayawada (Central) Division Executive Engineer and River Conservator Ravi Kiran confirmed the issue, noting that repairs would be carried out once the flood levels receded. “There is no danger as floodwater is being discharged effectively,” they assured.
By 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 69 gates were lifted to their maximum height of 10 feet, releasing 4,68,720 cusecs of water downstream, while maintaining the crest level at 13.3 feet.
Additionally, 3,829 cusecs of water were released into the Krishna Eastern Main Canal (KEMC) and 516 cusecs into the Krishna Western Main Canal (KWMC).
Reservoirs across Andhra Pradesh are reporting higher storage levels when compared to the same time last year.
Major reservoirs, with a gross capacity of 908.48 tmc ft, currently hold 728.31 tmc ft or 80.17%, up from 73.03% last year.
Medium reservoirs, which have a gross capacity of 91.58 tmc ft, are storing 48.17 tmc ft or 52.6%, compared to 37.68% last year.
In total, the State’s reservoirs now hold 776.47 tmc ft of water or 77.64% of their capacity, a rise from 69.79% recorded in 2024. The available flood cushion across all reservoirs stands at 223.59 tmc ft, which officials say will help manage the inflows during heavy rainfall.
Reservoirs brimming
In the Krishna Basin, key reservoirs are approaching full capacity.
At Srisailam in Nandyal district, the reservoir now holds 198.36 tmc ft when compared to its gross capacity of 215.81 tmc ft, leaving a flood cushion of 17.45 tmc ft. The inflows were recorded at 3,90,135 cusecs, while the outflows stood at 4,43,004 cusecs.
At Nagarjuna Sagar in Palnadu district, the reservoir reached 296.28 tmc ft against its gross capacity of 312.05 tmc ft, with the inflows of 4,10,186 cusecs and outflows of 4,09,791 cusecs.
Meanwhile, at Pulichinthala in Palnadu district, the storage stood at 33.54 tmc ft against a capacity of 45.77 tmc ft, with inflows of 3,97,807 cusecs and outflows of 4,13,395 cusecs.
Both the Prakasam Barrage in NTR district and the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in East Godavari district have reached full capacity.
At the Prakasam Barrage, 3.07 tmc ft was stored, with balanced inflows and outflows of 4,73,065 cusecs. At Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage, the storage reached 2.93 tmc ft with equal inflows and outflows of 7,63,310 cusecs.
The officials said they were monitoring all the major reservoirs and barrages continuously. With both the Krishna and Godavari barrages reaching their full capacity, water level is being carefully regulated and released downstream to minimise risks in low-lying habitations.
“The situation is under control, but inflows are expected to rise further. We are prepared to issue the second flood warning depending on the inflow levels,” WRD officials said.
Published – August 20, 2025 12:24 am IST
