Mettur water level reaches 92 ft as inflow goes up

CHENNAI: The water level at Mettur Dam has been steadily rising due to increased inflow from the rainfall in Cauvery catchment areas. As of 8 am today, the water level has reached 92 feet, with the storage standing at 54.96 TMC.

With the northeast monsoon commencing yesterday, rainfall continues at the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, thus increasing inflow into the Cauvery River. The inflow to Mettur Dam, which was 15,531 cubic feet per second (cusecs) yesterday, has risen to 16,196 cusecs this morning, said a Daily Thanthi report.

From Mettur Dam, 7,000 cusecs of water was being released into the Cauvery River to irrigate the Cauvery Delta region in Tamil Nadu. However, as there has been continuous rains in the region, the release has been reduced to 500 cusecs.

Similarly, the water release for irrigation from the East-West canal has been reduced from 500 cusecs to 300 cusecs, the report added.

Meanwhile, in Karnataka, rainfall in the Cauvery catchment areas has led to sufficient filling of the Krishnarajasagar and Kabini dams, with only the surplus water from them being released to Tamil Nadu. This surplus water flows through the Cauvery River and reaches Mettur Dam via Hogenakkal in Dharmapuri district.