Mettur dam reaches full reservoir level for the third time this year
The Hindu
Water at the dam stood at 120 feet on December 7; there will be enough water for the Salem Corporation for summer 2023, officials have said
The water level at the Mettur dam reached its capacity of 120 feet for the third time this year, and the inflow into the dam was completely discharged on Thursday.
According to Water Resources Department (WRD) officials, following good monsoon rains in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur received adequate water, and the water level at the dam reached its capacity of 120 feet on July 16 this year, the 42nd time in the history of the Mettur dam. After that, the dam maintained its capacity for 69 days, until September 23. As the inflow reduced after September 23, the water level went below 120 feet.
Water inflow increased due to rains again, and on October 12, the dam again reached its capacity for the second time in an irrigation year (June 12 to January 28), and it maintained the same until November 25. Later, the water level went below 120 feet.
“Meanwhile, a sudden downpour in the delta region reduced Mettur dam’s water demand, and water discharged from the dam was reduced, with only 1,000 cusecs discharged from the dam last week,” an official said. Due to this, inflow water was stored in the dam, and on Wednesday, December 7 at 7.05 p.m., the dam reached its capacity of 120 feet for the third time in an irrigation year. “The inflow into the dam is completely discharged into the River Cauvery for delta irrigation,” the WRD official explained.
On Thursday, the dam’s water level and its storage level stood at their capacities of 120 feet and 93.47 TMC, respectively. At 8 a.m., inflow into the dam stood at 10,600 cusecs, and by 4 p.m., it increased to 15,600 cusecs. The amount of water discharged into the Cauvery River was increased from 10,000 to 15,000 cusecs. For canal irrigation, the water discharge was continued at 600 cusecs.
Salem Corporation officials said that 18 TMC of water is taken for various drinking water schemes a year from Mettur dam. As water will be discharged for delta irrigation until January 28, it needs 10-30 TMC of water to discharge, and this may reduce based on rainfall received. So for this summer season (March–June 2023) Mettur would have a sufficient amount of water and Salem Corporation would be able to supply drinking water without any issues, the officials added.