The Singur reservoir, a lifeline for Hyderabad and the old Medak and Nizamabad districts, has received barely 3 TMC ft of water this year, a year after its highest-ever inflow of 237 TMC ft. Officials warn that even drinking-water needs may go unmet from December. Next week, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will argue over their shares of a shrinking Krishna and Godavari in front of the river boards.
A year ago, the Singur multipurpose project on the Manjeera river was overflowing. In the 2025–26 water year it received 237 TMC ft (thousand million cubic feet), the most in its history. In the current 2026–27 year, according to figures reported by Telangana Today on 21 October, it has received just over 3 TMC ft, the fourth-lowest inflow since the project was commissioned in 1997–98.
The reservoir, built near Singur village in Pulkal mandal of Sangareddy district, now holds 3.246 TMC ft against a full capacity of 29.91 TMC ft, or about 11%. Irrigation officials have said they will not be able to meet even drinking-water requirements from December. Crop holidays have already been declared for the Singur ayacut in both the kharif (Vanakalam) and rabi (Yasangi) seasons.
A tale of two years
The swing illustrates the volatility of rain-fed reservoirs in the Deccan. The previous record lows came in 2019–20 (1.818 TMC ft), 2015–16 (2.061 TMC ft) and 2018–19 (2.426 TMC ft), so this year sits just above that band. Telangana Today attributes this year’s shortfall to negligible rainfall in the Manjeera catchment linked to El Niño conditions.
Low storage is not entirely the weather’s fault. After the National Dam Safety Review Panel advised repairs to the revetment of Singur’s earthen dam, warning that heavy inflows could cause serious damage, irrigation officials were unable to store water to the optimum level even in the wet year. The water that was not held back in 2025 cannot be used now.
The rain gauge tells the same story statewide. According to IMD figures reported by Siasat on 21 October, Telangana has received 3.4 mm of rain in the northeast-monsoon season so far, against a normal of 70.4 mm, after a southwest monsoon that delivered 615.8 mm against a normal of 795.7 mm.
What it means for Hyderabad
Singur and the Manjeera system are among six sources that supply the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB). In a 12 October report, Telangana Today gave the board’s current drawals as:
- Krishna (via Akkampally): 270 million gallons a day (MGD)
- Godavari (via Yellampalli): 162 MGD
- Singur: 71 MGD
- Manjeera: 44 MGD
- Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar: 23 and 14 MGD
That is roughly 585 MGD against an estimated demand of 735 MGD, a 150 MGD shortfall even before the reservoirs empty. Singur and Manjeera together account for about a fifth of supply and serve much of western Hyderabad. Siasat reported on 6 October that HMWSSB managing director K. Ashok Reddy had asked for area-wise contingency plans identifying an alternative source, supply route and quantity for each locality dependent on Singur and Manjeera.
Groundwater offers little cushion. The same Telangana Today report said borewells that once yielded water at about 300 feet now come up dry at 800 to 1,000 feet. HMWSSB tanker bookings are running at about 6,500 a day, according to The Hans India.
The larger, interstate sources, Krishna and Godavari, are therefore becoming more important just as they become more contested.
The river boards meet
The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) meets on 26 October and the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) on 30 October. Both meetings were originally scheduled for August and postponed. According to Telangana Today and Deccan Chronicle, the agenda includes:
- Krishna sharing. A recent three-member committee failed to reach consensus. Andhra Pradesh wants to retain the 66:34 ratio, while Telangana seeks 70:30, arguing that a larger part of the Krishna basin lies within its territory. The committee stressed that drinking water should take priority.
- Telemetry. Telangana says Andhra Pradesh is drawing more than its share and has not complied with a KRMB directive to install telemetry that measures drawals. Some existing devices are reportedly malfunctioning.
- Polavaram. At the GRMB, Telangana will again raise flooding of its upstream areas by backwaters from Andhra Pradesh’s Polavaram project; the project authority has said it will study the issue.
- Board finances, including pending contributions from both states.
The 66:34 ratio dates from the ad hoc arrangement agreed after the 2014 bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, which divided the undivided state’s Krishna allocation pending a tribunal decision; that adjudication is still unresolved. In a normal year the argument is about entitlement. In a dry year it decides whose fields and taps go without.
Deccan Chronicle notes that the Krishna basin is under the greatest stress this year, while Godavari inflows are lower than usual but less alarming. That matters for Hyderabad: the Krishna pipeline is the city’s single largest source.
The state’s response
The Telangana government has set up a cabinet sub-committee on El Niño and drought, and has ordered that irrigation releases end and drinking water be prioritised. On 21 October Rural Water Supply Minister Seethakka, a member of the sub-committee, inspected Ramappa Lake in Mulugu and ordered releases for drinking water within two days, alongside recharge pits and check dams under the rural employment guarantee scheme, according to Siasat.
These measures manage scarcity; they do not create water. The more durable questions are structural: whether storage at dams such as Singur can be safely restored, whether telemetry is installed so that drawals can be verified rather than disputed, and whether Hyderabad can reduce the non-revenue losses and groundwater overdraft that leave it exposed in every dry year.
What happens next
The northeast monsoon still has several weeks to run, and IMD expects a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal around 23 October. Rain over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema, however, does little for the Manjeera catchment. Unless late-season rain changes the picture, the two board meetings will be held against the backdrop of the driest reservoir outlook Telangana has faced in several years.
