Mettur dam level maintained at 120ft

Salem: It has been more than 100 days since authorities have been maintaining the water level in the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur at 120ft mark.

Public Works Department officials said while they had earlier maintained the water level above the 100ft mark on many occasions, this was the first time the same was maintained at 120ft that too for a period of 101 days in a row.

“The water level had crossed the 120ft mark four times this year,” a PWD official told TOI. He said it was a good news for farmers as water could be released for irrigation purposes for the next few months.

The Stanley reservoir started receiving water from Karnataka following good rain in its catchment areas and in Wayanad in Kerala. The Karnataka government had released water from the Kabini and Krishnaraja Sagar dams after they reached their full capacity.

The water level in the reservoir had touched 100ft on August 13 this year. It touched the full capacity of 120ft on September 7.

The inflow to the dam is currently recorded at 8,143 cubic feet per second (cusecs), while 7,000cusecs water is being released for irrigation needs in delta districts. Another 900cusecs water is being released through its east and west bank canals.