Water release from KRS, Kabini surges Mettur dam level

The Stanley Reservoir in Tamil Nadu’s Mettur is filling up fast as over 1.30 lakh cusecs of water is being discharged from Krishna Raja Sagar and Kabini reservoirs in Karnataka due to heavy rains in catchment areas of River Cauvery.

The Mettur dam’s water level has risen by nearly 10 feet in just 24 hours and the trend is expected to continue for the next few days at least as rains continue to pound the catchment areas of the river in Karnataka.

As huge amounts of water are being released from the reservoirs in Cauvery, the Tamil Nadu government has asked people living on the banks of the river, which begins its journey from Talakaveri in Karnataka and merges into the ocean near Poompuhar, to be alert.

The inflow of water in Biligundlu, the entry point of River Cauvery in Tamil Nadu, stood at over 1.30 lakh cusecs at 8 pm on Sunday. The water level at the Stanley Reservoir, the lifeline of lakhs of farmers in Cauvery Delta region, in Mettur stood at 81.100 feet as against the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 120 feet.

At 8 pm on Sunday, inflow at the Mettur dam was 1.30 lakh cusecs, while the outflow was 1,000 cusecs and the water storage was 43.061 tmcft. The water level at the 86-year-old dam is expected to rise in the coming days due to huge discharge from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs.

The Mettur dam had attained FRL more than once in the past two years due to heavy rains in the catchment areas. Water released from the dam is the only source for lakhs of farmers in the Delta region who cultivate paddy and other crops.

Besides, Bhavanisagar and Amaravathi reservoirs in Western Tamil Nadu are also brimming with water as rain pound catchment areas of the rivers in neighbouring Kerala. Even as reservoirs are getting filled up fast, people in Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts have been put to severe inconvenience due to heavy rains in several parts of the region.

As heavy rains rocked Kerala, the Theni district administration has asked people living on the banks of River Periyar to be on high alert.