Water level in Mettur dam set to rise as Cauvery water reaches Tamil Nadu

Excess water released from reservoirs in Karnataka due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of River Cauvery reached Biligundulu, the entry point of the river in Tamil Nadu, on Thursday. The inflow in Biligundulu, which was 10,000 cusecs at 8 am on Thursday morning, increased to 22,000 cusecs at 4 pm in the evening as more amount of water was discharged from Kabini reservoir.

The water is expected to reach the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur, the lifeline of lakhs of farmers in the Cauvery Delta region, on Friday. With over 40,000 cusecs of water is being released from Kabini, the water level in Mettur dam is expected to rise exponentially in the coming days.

At 8 am on Thursday, the inflow was 3,625 cusecs and the outflow was 3,000, while the water level stood at 64.20 feet as against the total capacity of 120 feet. As huge amounts of water is being released from Karnataka, people living on the banks of River Cauvery in Dharmapuri district have been asked to be alert.

“The water from Biligundulu is expected to reach Mettur dam on Friday. The dam’s water level will increase from Friday and the trend will continue if rains continue to pound the catchment areas,” a senior government official said.

The fast filling up of Mettur dam will allow uninterrupted supply of water for farmers in the Delta region, who were able to cultivate short-term crop (kuruvai) in an area of over 5 lakh acres for the first time in about nine years.

The sluices of the Stanley Reservoir were opened for the first time as scheduled in the month of June after 2011 as the dam had enough water. From 2012 to 2019, the dam was not opened in June due to less storage.

June 12 was set as the date for opening the sluice gates of Mettur dam decades ago, keeping in mind onset of South-West monsoon in Kerala on May 31 and a few days later in Karnataka. This would ensure that the sowing is over by the end of June and the short-term crop can be harvested in early October.