SALEM: The discharge of water from Mettur Dam was increased from 12,400 cusecs to 15,000 cusecs the Water Resources Department from Thursday morning to meet the rising irrigation requirements of the Cauvery delta region.
As of Thursday evening, the water level in the dam stood at 76.450 feet, against its full capacity of 120 feet, while the storage was recorded at 38.511 tmcft.
The inflow into the reservoir was relatively low at 2,339 cusecs, indicating that the quantity of water entering the dam was much lower than the volume being released.
Following the increase in discharge, 15,000 cusecs of water were being released through the river channel, while there was no discharge through the canals, according to WRD officials.
The increase in outflow comes at a time when the reservoir continues to receive limited inflow from Karnataka. The quantum of water being released from the Mettur dam now is much higher than the water entering the reservoir.