VIJAYAPURA : The accumulation of silt in reservoirs has always been a concern for experts as it decreases the water storage level in the dams. In order to gauge the quantum of silt accumulated in the backwaters of Almatti dam, the government has undertaken a study through Karnataka Engineering Research Station. The officials have already started the survey work by using high-end technology that gives clarity on the quantum of silt accumulated.
“Our boats have arrived from Mangaluru and we are using modern machines to conduct our studies,” said K G Mahesh, director of the station. He said that as per the government norms, such study of the dams should be conducted once every 10 years to find out the amount of silt accumulated which helped in understanding the quantity of water the dam can store.
The Almatti dam’s backwater covers around 487sqkm and the officials will conduct the study in the entire stretch. Explaining the methodology, officials said that the backwater area is first divided into various segments with each area covering around 100m through aerial survey using drones. The Echo Sound System machine which is attached to the boats is used to send sound waves to the bottom of the backwaters.
Later, the details collected from all the segments are compiled to find out the exact quantity of silt accumulation. Based on that information, it is possible to find out the measures to prevent the silt accumulation, the officials said.
Stating that the study takes around three months to complete, the officials said that they would be spending around Rs 1.8 crore for the study. The Geomarine Engineering agency of Mangaluru has taken the contract. The funds have been granted by the Central government’s National Hydrological Project that comes under Jan Shakti Ministry.