THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the water level in Idukki reservoir touched 2,394.36 ft on Sunday, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) made it clear water will be released on a test basis if the level goes up by another three feet.
“At 2,397 ft, water will be discharged in a controlled manner — at 50 cubic metres per second — for four hours. This is to assess the condition of the channels and impact on their banks,’’ said KSEB chairman N S Pillai. The Board will issue ‘Orange Alert’ if the water level touches 2,395 ft and ‘Red Alert’ at 2,398 ft. Water will be released 24 hours after the alert is sounded.
The ‘full level’ of the Idukki dam, the reservoir for the 780 MW Moolamattam power station, is 2,403 ft and the maximum level 2,408 ft. However, KSEB will not wait for the water level to touch it.
On Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened a meeting in which it was decided to hold a joint survey by the KSEB, Revenue and Water Resources Department to ascertain the number of people who would be affected by the release of water and the condition of the channels.
Water from the Idukki dam was last released in 1992. This is also the first time since then that such high level has been recorded. KSEB had issued the first alert regarding rising water level in the dam when the levels touched 2,390 ft.