Water storage in Sri Lanka’s major reservoirs stood at 34.3% of effective capacity as of yesterday (September 6), data released by the Irrigation Department’s Water Management Branch said.The data covering 74 major reservoirs show a total gross capacity of 3,114,407 acre-feet, while present effective storage was recorded at 1,020,713 acre-feet.

Among the districts covered, Kurunegala recorded the highest effective storage level at 73.3%, followed by Puttalam at 62.6%, Kandy at 60.2%, Monaragala at 54.4% and Galle at 62.9%.At the individual reservoir level, Ambewela Reservoir in Badulla was spilling, with its effective storage at 100%. Vakaneri Reservoir in Batticaloa was also spilling, with its effective storage recorded at 100%.

Several reservoirs, however, recorded relatively low storage levels. Ethimale Reservoir in Monaragala stood at 4.3%, while Rottikulama in Ampara was at 6.7%, Viyathikulam in Mannar at 6.5%, Mora Wewa in Trincomalee at 9.4%, and Nagadeepa and Morana reservoirs in Badulla at 1.1% each.The figures also show considerable differences in water availability between districts, highlighting the uneven distribution of reservoir storage across the country.