SALEM: With Mettur Dam’s storage falling below 60-feet and inflows dwindling to just 534 cusecs, water released for irrigation in the Cauvery delta districts is set to be reduced further as the 45-day release schedule that began on September 1 nears its end, raising concerns over the availability of water for standing crops.
As of Thursday evening, the reservoir level stood at 57.980 ft, with storage at 23.204 tmcft and inflow at just 534 cusecs. The outflow into the Cauvery was 10,000 cusecs, nearly 19 times the volume of water entering the reservoir, highlighting the pressure on storage amid continued releases and inadequate rainfall.
Water was released from Mettur for irrigation on September 1, with the Water Resources Department scheduling the release for 45 days. At the time, the reservoir level stood at 91.56 ft, storage was 54.452 tmcft and inflow was 10,857 cusecs.
The outflow, which began at 3,000 cusecs, reached 15,000 cusecs by October 1, the highest discharge since the release began. However, inflows remained poor throughout the period and were consistently lower than the volume being released, resulting in a dip in storage.
The discharge was first reduced to 12,000 cusecs on October 10 and subsequently brought down to 10,000 cusecs from Wednesday. It was further scheduled to be reduced to 8,000 cusecs from Thursday night.
WRD officials said inflows were likely to remain low in the coming days due to inadequate rainfall and that releases would be regulated according to the availability of water.
The Mettur dam has now reached one of its lowest storage levels since 2023, when water was released for irrigation even after the level fell below 50 feet, a WRD official said.
