Despite the alarm bells ringing over low water level at the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) and the possible impact on drinking water and agriculture, recent records indicate that the present situation is not new and storage position has improved between July and October.
The water level as on Tuesday is 78.38 ft as against the full reservoir level of 124.80 ft and this is in stark contrast to the situation on the same day last year when the KRS water level was hovering at 110.64 ft
While the concerns over poor storage position as on July 4 is justified, available data shows that the KRS water level was below 80 ft during June in 18 out 24 years. But, in the subsequent weeks of those years, the monsoon gained traction as evident in the steady rise in the water levels and the storage position.
Also, records of the last 10 years from the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. and Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) indicate that the KRS attained full reservoir level of 124.80 ft seven times despite starting from a low base during June.
The year 2022 was an exception with the water level crossing the 120 feet mark as early as July 8 though the full reservoir level was attained a few days later as the outflow was kept high to meet the requirements of the lower riparian State of Tamil Nadu.
In 2021, the KRS attained full reservoir level on October 28, days after the retreat of the south west monsoon but abetted by unseasonal rains.
In 2020 the full reservoir level of the dam was attained in the third week of August, while in 2019 the vagaries of monsoon and nature was evident. The water level in the reservoir was 79.99 ft till the third week of June but eventually good rains helped KRS to hit the 124.80-ft mark on August 15.
But heavy and unseasonal rains that lashed the catchment area of the Cauvery subsequently helped the reservoir retain the 124.80-ft mark till the third week of November despite a steady outflow. In 2018, the water level hovered around 79.5 ft till the second week of June and full reservoir level was reached by August 30.
The dam did not reach full reservoir level in 2015 but the worst monsoon was in 2016 when the water level in the reservoir as on July 1 of that year was 78.30 ft, but the monsoon failed and the reservoir did not even reach the 100 ft-mark and maxed out at 98.63 ft. The scenario was similar in 2017 as well and the reservoir level was 78.55 ft till as late as July 20 and the dam did not hit the full reservoir level of 124.80 ft.
On the two occasions when the water level at the KRS was below 80 ft during July, the dam did not attain full reservoir level. Whether the situation this year, as the water level is below 80 ft as on Tuesday, will be similar or will delayed monsoon and unseasonal rains help the dam reach the brim, remains to be seen.
