KURNOOL: A 20-member-experts team have started a detailed survey to estimate the silt and possible erosion in the plunge pool at the Srisailam reservoir.
The technician team from Mumbai has been conducting the hydrographic survey for at least 20-30 days, said dam Superintendent Engineer S Venkata Ramanaiah.
Speaking to TNIE, the SE said that the team was conducting the survey with support and monitoring by their staff. He, however, said that the Central Water Commission (CWC) has been funding it. The survey is being done after a long gap.
The team is conducting a survey to study the plunge pool formed in the base level of the reservoir and the safety aspects of the dam. The Srisailam dam has received huge amounts of water and mud during the 2009 floods and a shallow pit formed at the base of the reservoir after release of water from the dam, he added.
As per official estimates, the dam has lost at least 90 TMC ft of water storage in its total capacity of 308.060 TMC after the 2009 floods. Even the dam is losing nearly 2 TMC ft of water storage level every year with mud accumulating in the dam every year.
At present, the storage level has reduced to 215.80 TMC ft of water against its actual capacity of 308.060 TMC.
The storage capacity will come down drastically in the coming years if the silt is not cleared from the dam, an irrigation expert observed.