BHUBANESWAR: Even as Odisha received record rainfall in the last four days, there has been no significant change in water level in five of the State’s seven major reservoirs.The only silver lining is the rising water level in the Hirakud and Rengali dams.
The power houses at Burla, Chipilima and Rengali have a combined generating capacity of about 600 MW. Hirakud dam provides irrigation to 1,55,635 hectare of kharif and 1,08,385 ha of rabi irrigation in the districts of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir and Subarnapur.
The live storage level in Hirakud dam, which was 63 per cent of the storage capacity 10 days back, improved to 84.7 per cent on Tuesday. The current water level is 626.83 ft which is 3.17 ft below the full reservoir level of 630 ft. The water level during this day last year was 627.85 ft.
With the upper catchment areas of river Mahanadi receiving good rainfall due to the deep depression and more water entering into the dam, an improved water level will ensure better hydro power generation during next summer.
According to the Water Resources department, the average inflow of water into the reservoir was 1.94 lakh cusecs while the outflow was over 2.25 lakh cusecs. The installed capacity for power generation is 347.5 MW through its two power houses at Burla and Chiplima.
The water level in Rengali dam is about 85.7 per cent of the full reservoir capacity of 123.5 mt. The current level is 1.41 mt less than the reservoir position. The Rengali hydro power stations have the capacity to generate 250 MW.
As the undivided KBK districts remained untouched by the current system and rainfall remained sporadic in the last week, water level in reservoirs located in Kalahandi, Koraput and Malkangiri has seen marginal improvement.
The water level is still at an alarming level in Upper Kolab with 26.8 per cent live storage. The reservoir level is at 849.48 mt as against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 858 mt. The water level during this day last year was 850.92 mt.
Live storage available in Machhkund reservoir in Koraput district is only 23.1 per cent, Balimela in Malkangiri district is 32.4 per cent and Indravati 34.6 per cent of the FRL of 2,750 ft, 1,516 ft and 642 ft respectively.
Indravati hydro power station with a generating capacity of 600 MW is the mainstay of the Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) which has been supplying cheaper power to the State.The combined power generating capacity of these hydro power stations is 2,063.50 MW.