Top 10 countries by their total water storage capacity

Water is an essential part of our life and without it, life is not possible on earth. We use water for drinking, farming, and many other daily life activities. To fulfill the water needs, countries often store water in the form of dams. There are thousands of dams in the world storing a very large amount of water. We'll analyze the top 10 countries by their total water storage capacity and their largest dams. The water storage capacity is determined by the total capacity of the dams of a country. These are the top 10 countries by their total water storage capacity.

10. Iraq

The total water storage capacity of Iraq currently sits at 123.06maf. The largest dam in Iraq is the Mosul dam which impounds the Tigris river in the western governorate of Nineveh, upstream of the city of Mosul. Mosul dam has a total water storage capacity of 9maf.

9. Turkey

The total water storage capacity of Turkey currently sits at 127.52maf. The Deriner dam with a total height of 249m is the highest dam of Turkey impounding the Coruh River near Artvin province in the north-eastern part of Turkey. The dam can store 1.6maf of water in its reservoir and also generates 670MW of electricity.

8. Venezuela

The total water storage capacity of Venezuela currently sits at 127.77maf. Guri dam located on the Caroni river is the largest dam of Venezuela and it has one of the largest reservoirs in the world with a water storage capacity of 109maf. It is also the largest dam of Venezuela by a hydropower capacity of 10,235MW.

7. Egypt

The total water storage capacity of Egypt currently sits at 136.36maf. The Aswan Dam which is built on the Nile River in Aswan is the largest embankment dam in the world. It has a total water storage capacity of 107maf and also generates 2,100 MW of electricity.

6. India

The total water storage capacity of India currently sits at 181.6maf. India currently has 5202 largest dams. The tallest dam of India is Tehri Dam which impounds the Bhagirathi river in the state of Uttrakhand. The dam stands at a height of 260 meters and has a total storage capacity of 3.2maf. The Rihand dam impounding the Rihand river at Pipri in Sonbhadra District in Uttar Pradesh is the largest dam of India in terms of water storage capacity.

5. Brazil

The total water storage capacity of Brazil currently sits at 567.82maf. Brazil has the world's second-largest dam in terms of installed power capacity. The Itaipu dam impounding the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay has the total power capacity to 14,000MW and it can store 24maf of water in its reservoir. The Irapé dam is the tallest dam in Brazil which is constructed along the Jequitinhonha River stands at a height of 682 feet.

4. USA

The total water storage capacity of the USA currently sits at 596.6maf. The United States is the second most dammed country in the world after China by the total number of dams. The US currently has an estimated 84,000 dams impounding about 17% of the rivers in the USA. The Hoover dam which impounds the Colorado River in the Black Canyon on a border between the states of Arizona and Nevada is the largest dam in the United States by the water storage capacity. The Hoover dam has a total water storage capacity of 28.53maf in its reservoir.

3. Russia

The total water storage capacity of Russia currently sits at 649.78maf. The Bratsk dam impounding the Angara river in Siberia is the biggest dam in Russia and the second biggest dam in the World by water storage capacity. Its reservoir can store 137.22maf of water and it also generates 4500MW of electricity.

2. China

The total water storage capacity of China currently sits at 672.72maf. As of today, China has the most dams in the world with the total number of dams at 87,000 and it is constructing more and more dams.  The Jinping-I dam which impounds the Yalong river in Sichuan province is the tallest dam in China and the world as well with a height of 305m (1,001ft). The Three Gorges Dam which impounds the Yangtze River in the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province is the largest hydropower producing dam in the world with a total installed capacity of 22,500MW. The Three Gorges Dam is also the biggest dam in china by water storage capacity, it can store 31.9maf of water.

1. Canada

The total water storage capacity of Canada currently sits at 682.21maf. Currently, there are over 15,000 dams in Canada mostly intended for hydroelectric power generation. The W. A. C. Bennett Dam is one of the world's highest earth-fill dams with a height of 183m (600 ft) constructed on the Peace River in northern British Columbia, Canada. The Daniel-Johnson Dam, also known as Manic 5 Dam alone has the capacity to store 113.33maf of water in its reservoir and it is the biggest dam of Canada by the water storage capacity and the fourth biggest in the world.

Watch Countries Ranking by their total water storage capacity from 1960 to 2017