Heavy inflow from Karnataka continues, Mettur level rises by 27 feet in seven days

CHENNAI: The heavy inflow of water from Karnataka to Stanley Reservoir in Mettur continued for yet another day, taking the water level up by a whopping 27 feet in just seven days.

The 90-year-old reservoir, which is the lifeline for lakhs of farmers in the Cauvery Delta region of Tamil Nadu, recorded an inflow of 71,777 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water at 8 am on Sunday, which took its storage level to 68.91 ft against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 120 ft.

Karnataka discharged 74,376 cusecs of water from four reservoirs - 40,292 cusecs from Kabini, 17,291 cusecs from Harangi, 12,079 cusecs from Hemavathy, and 4,714 cusecs from Krishna Raja Sagar - at 8 am.

Noting that the catchment areas of Kabini and other reservoirs in Karnataka and Kerala have been receiving heavy rainfall, officials from the Water Resources Department said the inflow is likely to increase in the coming days.

If the release continues, the water level in Mettur dam will shoot up to more than 90 ft in the next three to four days. In the last seven days, the water level increased by 26 ft, rising to 68.910 ft on Sunday from 42.760 ft on July 14.