T.N. Rains | Flood alert issued to 30 villages, as water from Sathanur dam in Tiruvannamalai is released

Tiruvannamalai flood alert issued to 30 villages along banks of Thenpennai river. WRD releasing 1,000 cuses of water/sec from Sathanur dam after level reaches 117.80 ft. Heavy rain in villages on Kalvarayan Hills. WRD storing 7,220 mcft of water in dam, sluice gates opened to discharge water. Collector orders residents to relocate to safer places. PWD officials say dam can store water up to 119 ft. 4 tmc of water stored for irrigation, 2 tmc for domestic consumption.

A flood alert was issued to 30 villages along the banks of the Thenpennai river in Tiruvannamalai on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, by the Water Resources Department (WRD), as 1,000 cuses of water is being released from the Sathanur dam, after its level reached 117.80 feet as against the total capacity of 119 feet.

This is the third time water is being released from the damsince October 13, when 850 cuses of water were released. This time, villages on the foothills of the Kalvarayan Hills including Lalpettai, Kattumannarkoil, Thattakudi, Mullakudi and Paruthikudi witnessed heavy rainfall. These villages come under the Tirukkoyilur, Vanapuram and Thandrampet taluks in Villupuram, Kallakurichi and Tiruvannamalai districts respectively.

“Water from Sathanur dam has been released around 9.30 a.m on Wednesday to maintain the storage level at 117 feet as per norms for November. In December, we can store water up to the dam’s full capacity of 119 feet,” B. Rajesh, Assistant Engineer, WRD (Sathanur Dam), told The Hindu.

Officials of the WRD, which maintains the dam, said that of the total water inflow received at Santhanur, 700 cusecs was from from the Krishnagiri dam, which has received heavy rains. Sluice gates of the dam that is located 8 km from the reservoir downstream, was opened to discharge water into the dam’s left and right bank canals. Of the total storage capacity of 7,321 mcft of water, the dam now has storage of 7,220 mcft.

In his order, Tiruvannamalai Collector B. Murugesh has asked residents in villages along the bank of the river to relocate to safer places away from the riverbank. Local panchayat and revenue officials and the police were also directed to take necessary steps to evacuate residents from low-lying areas. Residents were also warned against crossing the river as the water flow has been on the rise.

Public Works Department (PWD) officials said this is the first time after many years that the dam has attained the capacity to store water to its full capacity of 119 feet, since its inception in 1958. This was made possible after the old sluice gates were replaced with new ones, in a massive restoration project of the dam that took place in June 2022. Earlier, water was stored only up to 99 ft, due to safety considerations.

Every year, 4 tmc of water is stored in the dam for irrigation. The dam also helps to store water in 88 tanks along the route in these districts. While water from the dam’s Left Bank Canal feeds 30 tanks in Tiruvannamalai and 10 in Villupuram, the Right Bank Canal is connected to 48 tanks in Villupuram. The dam also provides at least 2 tmc water for domestic consumption to residents in at least 150 villages and major towns like Chengam and Tiruvannamalai, without reducing its deck storage level of 56 feet.