A total of 50 water bodies in Salem district attained their full capacity while 94 water bodies remain dry as of October this year.
Until the last week of October, rain lashed at regular intervals in Salem district and water bodies (tanks and ponds) started to receive water. But from October 30 till today (November 15, 2025), there was no rainfall in the district and many water bodies are yet to receive water, which has caused them to dry.
In the district, there are a total of 365 water bodies, including three in Salem Corporation, 19 maintained by the Regional Director of Municipal Administration (RDMA), 192 by the Assistant Director (AD) of panchayats, 45 by the AD of Town Panchayat, 18 by the Executive Engineer (EE) of the Water Resources Department (WRD) Mettur Dam, and 88 by the EE of WRD, Sarabanga.
Of the total water bodies until October last week, 50 water bodies attained their full capacity, including two maintained by RDMA, 27 by AD panchayats, two by AD of town panchayats, four by EE WRD Mettur Dam and 15 by the EE, Sarabanga. Out of the three water bodies maintained by the Corporation, none attained its full capacity. 33 water bodies have 75% of water, 43 have 50% of water, 145 have less than 50% of water and 94 have dried without water in the district.
Officials said that last year, due to heavy rain at the end of November and the beginning of December, many water bodies received water. It is expected that rain will pour in the coming days this year as well and water bodies will receive water, officials added.