In view of the heavy rain in the catchment area of the Cauvery basin, the Tamil Nadu government is set to open the gates of the Mettur dam for irrigation on August 13. Presently, the dam holds 62 tmc ft of water.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami will open the sluice gates of the dam. The storage at the dam was nearing 90 feet and the inflow was 2.40 lakh cusecs, he said in a statement on Monday.
The release of water from the Mettur dam was expected to replenish 700 waterbodies along the Cauvery and the basin areas and irrigate farmland in these areas, the CM said. Besides facilitating irrigation, it would improve the groundwater level in the region and could be used to meet drinking water needs, he added.
At 8 p.m. on Monday, the water level at the dam was 92.5 ft against a total scale of 120 ft. The stored capacity of water at the dam was 55,514 mcft against an effective capacity of 93,470 mcft. The inflow into the dam was 2,40,000 cusecs and the outflow was maintained at 1,000 cusecs. According to officials, the inflow at Biligundlu was 2,45,000 cusecs of water.