Date:14/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/14/stories/2008081457890100.htm

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Dams in State filling up

Tamil Nadu Bureau

Mettur inflow up from 17,000 to
27, 800 cusecs
Total Periyar credit once again touches 5,000-mcft mark

CHENNAI: Heavy rainfall in the catchment areas in the State, and in Kerala and Karnataka in the past few days, has led to significant increase in storage in reservoirs across the State, bringing cheer to farmers and water managers.

Inflow into the Mettur reservoir, the largest and the most important irrigation source in the State, which was 17,000 cusecs in the morning, improved to 27,800 cusecs in the afternoon. The Kabini dam in Karnataka, already surplussing, received 23,000 cusecs on Tuesday and 30,000 cusecs from Wednesday morning. The entire inflow into Kabini was let out.

Similarly Herangi and Hemavathi reservoirs, which are upstream of the KRS reservoir realised heavy inflow in the last two days. Due to this the KRS reservoir is getting heavy inflow.

As it has almost reached its full capacity of 48 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet), there is heavy discharge from the reservoir. The Mettur reservoir is expected to receive more than 30,000 cusecs over the next few days.

On Wednesday, its storage was 24 tmcft and the discharge, 13,000 cusecs. With the current storage and inflows, the Irrigation department is confident of successfully meeting the irrigation requirements of kuruvai cultivation.

In Madurai region, two significant spells of rainfall in the catchment areas of Periyar dam in July-end and this week have lifted the hopes of farmers of the Periyar-Vaigai basin.

The level in the Periyar dam has been pushed up by seven feet and in the Vaigai dam by three feet between July 26 and August 13. The combined Periyar credit has gone up by 2,126 mcft in the same period – from 2,875 mcft on July 26 to 5,001 mcft on Wednesday – despite water being released for irrigating the Cumbum valley and the double crop area.

Meanwhile, the total Periyar credit has once again touched the 5,000-mcft mark after a long gap of 46 days, thus ensuring sufficient storage for the standing paddy crop in Theni, Dindigul and Madurai districts. The around 70-day-old crop requires water release for at least another 50 days.

Heavy rain in the west have led to filling up of many of the dams in the Coimbatore region too.

The level in the Siruvani dam — half of the city is dependent on this dam for drinking water — has risen to a little more than 55 ft, as against the full reservoir level of 67 ft.

Rainfall had been steady over the last four days, ranging from 25 mm to 35 mm.