The water, released this noon, is expected to reach the Stanely Reservoir in Mettur by Friday night, they said.

While 16,000 cusecs were released from Kabini reservoir, 3,000 cusecs discharged from Krishnarajasagar Dam, Sub-Divisional Officer of Stanely Reservoir S Kumarasamy told PTI quoting information received from Karnataka PWD officials.

The Mettur dam, the lifeline of Cauvery delta farmers of Tamil Nadu, was opened for irrigation only on Wednesday, well behind the customary date of June 12 owing to low storage. As per the interim award of the inter-state Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, Karnataka has to release 205 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu in a year.

The water level in Mettur Dam on Wednesday stood at 82.27 feet against the maximum level of 120 feet. The inflow was 4,608 cusecs and the outflow 12,000 cusecs.