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Idukki has water for just 18 days

Grim situation: The Idukki hydroelectric project supplies nearly 50 per cent of the electricity generated in the State.

KATTAPPANA: Water level in the Idukki reservoir has fallen considerably, raising fears that the hydroelectric project which supplies nearly 50 per cent of the electricity generated in the State will have to be shut down if the situation continues for 18 days, a top official of the Dam Monitoring Cell at Cheruthoni said on Tuesday.

The water level on Tuesday was 2,301.42 ft in comparison with 2,339.6 ft exactly a year ago, the official said. Power generation has to be stopped when the water level falls to 2,280 ft.

“It is estimated that if the present level of power production at the rate of 615 mu (million unit) a day is continued, the water level in the reservoir will last only 18 days when the intake tunnel leading to the Moolamattom power house will surface from the water,” he said.

Official figures say the inflow of water into the reservoir through various tributaries and the Periyar is 390 mcf (million cubic feet) on Tuesday as against last year’s over 1,000 mcf. The catchment area of the Idukki dam received 3 cm of rainfall on Tuesday and 4 cm on Monday. He said that though the water level had fallen to the present level early July in the past too, the rains had picked up momentum in the following days. “The monsoon is eluding the district, which recorded a 50 per cent fall in rainfall during June. The catchment area of the Idukki dam received rainfall much below the level recorded in the district,” he said.

“The rain received in the catchment area was poor and had little impact on the reservoir,” the official said.

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