Siltation brings down storage capacity of Karnataka's Almatti dam by 7.55 tmcft: Study

Almatti (Bagalkot dist): A study by Karnataka Engineering Research Station (KERS) in 2023 has revealed a significant loss of storage capacity in Almatti reservoir, the lifeline of undivided Vijayapura and Kalyana Karnataka districts, due to siltation.

According to KERS, the Almatti dam has accumulated 7.556 tmcft of silt bringing down the water holding capacity of the reservoir to 115.552 tmcft as against its maximum storage of 123.081 tmcft.

The KERS, in a report to the state government, has claimed that the water holding capacity of Almatti dam has gone down by 6.1% since its commissioning over two decades ago.

According to K G Mahesh, director, KERS, “The study was conducted on 487 sq km covering the backwaters of Almatti reservoir to Hippargi barrage for three months. Explaining about the methodology, the KERS director said, Sound waves were sent to the bottom of the reservoir from an echo sound system machine fitted to a boat. Based on the echo, the quantum of silt deposition can be measured using software uploaded in the machine. The data extracted by the machine was analysed and a report on the same was submitted to the government,” he said.

Meanwhile, Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited (KBJNL) officials have claimed that there won’t be any water shortage for irrigation and power generation, even if the storage capacity drops to 115.55 tmcft.

The Narayanpur dam, built across Krishna river downstream of Almatti dam, has highest accumulation of silt at 10.550 tmcft across all dams in state, a study in 2022 said.

The deposition of sediments has brought down the storage capacity of the dam to 27.292 tmcft.