After three weeks, Mettur dam level goes down a step below FRL

COIMBATORE: After 21 days, the water storage level in the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur began to dip on Friday following an increase in discharge for the Delta region.

“Release from Mettur dam has been increased from 5,000 cusecs to 12,000 cusecs on Thursday evening to meet the demand for irrigation in Delta region,” said a PWD official. A day after the increase in discharge, the water level in the dam began to dip as inflow remained lesser than outflow.

On Friday, 8 am, the water storage level in the dam came down to 119.730 ft as against the full reservoir capacity of 120 feet and it was declining further gradually. The dam was receiving an inflow of 5,067 cusecs.

Similarly, water released from Bhavanisagar dam through LBP canal in Erode has been extended by 17 days from December 29 to January 15. Water was already released for 120 days from August 12 to December 9 to irrigate 1.03 lakh acres of farmlands.

Water discharge from all outlets through LBP canal was stopped following a breach in the canal. It was fixed and following a request from farmers, the state has issued an order to release 3,378.24 Mcft water for a period of 17 days from the dam. Also, 5,184 Mcft of water at 500 cusecs/per day will be released from January 1, 2023 to April 30, 2023, to irrigate 15,743 acres in Erode, Bhavani, Modakurichi and Kodumudi taluks.