Storage in reservoirs inches to 46% amid weak monsoon

CHENNAI: Amidst the weak northeast rainfall, the cumulative storage of the reservoirs in the State is inching towards 46 per cent. As on Monday, the total storage in reservoirs stood at 102.243 against the capacity of 222.297 tmc.

Northeast monsoon, which contributes to around 48 per cent of the annual rainfall of the state, was recorded below normal between October 1 and November 20. The state received 254.6 mm rainfall, which is 16 per cent less than the normal.

“We are hoping the forecast of moderate to heavy rainfall in several districts will aid fast filling of reservoirs in the days to come. If we get decent rainfall, it will increase the storage level to full capacity in another 10 reservoirs,” said a senior Water Resource Department (WRD) official.

The storage level in the State’s major reservoir, Mettur, stood at 26.385 tmc as against its total storage capacity of 93.470 tmc, while eight reservoirs in the state are brimming with water at 8 am on Monday, according to the Water Resource Department’s bulletin.

The inflow of water to Mettur ranges between 3,000 cusecs to 5,500 causes, except for November 9 when the reservoir received an inflow of 10,514 causes. “With the present storage, there will not be an issue in drinking water supply to districts dependent on Mettur reservoir till May next year,” said an official.

Meanwhile, Kanniyakumari district received 83 per cent excess rainfall than normal rainfall of 416.6 mm since October 1, resulting in fast filling of the reservoirs in the district. Of the six reservoirs in the district, the water storage level reached the optimum level in one reservoir. Of the remaining reservoirs, the water level breached over 86 per cent in five reservoirs. In contrast to the other reservoirs, the water level stood at 12.91 per cent of the full storage capacity of 104.85 mcft.