The recent rain has increased the flow of water into the Mettur dam, and the quantum crossed 47,000 cusecs on Friday evening. According to official sources, perhaps this is the first time the dam is receiving such a huge inflow in May, at least in six decades.
According to officials of the Public Works Department, the water level at the dam increased from 112.77 feet at 8 a.m. to 113.66 feet at 4 p.m.
In the evening, the storage in the dam was 83,719 mcft and the inflow increased from 29,964 cusecs in the morning to 47,436 cusecs by 4 p.m. The discharge into the Cauvery was maintained at 1,500 cusecs.
The Southern Rivers Division of the Central Water Commission said in an advisory that owing to the heavy rain in the upper catchments of the Cauvery in Karnataka and Kerala, 46,000 cusecs was expected to reach the dam by Saturday morning. Districts downstream — Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Erode, Namakkal, Karur, Tiruchi, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam — were asked to take precautionary measures.
Official sources said there is no official record of such a huge quantum flowing into the dam in May. On the corresponding day in 2021, the inflow was only 2,027 cusecs, and it was 1,336 cusecs in 2020.
Official sources said that if the inflow continued at the current rate, the dam might attain the full reservoir level of 120 feet by this month-end, perhaps another first in May. If the dam attains the full reservoir level before June 12, the customary date for water release for cultivation in the delta region, the surplus gates may be raised first, they said.
