The scorching heat in south interior Karnataka over the last few weeks and the spectre of hotter days ahead has raised concern over depleting water levels in the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) across the Cauvery river, which is the main source of drinking water for major cities and towns in the region.
The water level at the KRS on February 28 was 90.23 feet against the maximum reservoir level of 124.80 ft. This is the lowest since 2018 for the month of February. It is only three times — including the current year — that the reservoir level has been so low in the last 10 years, as per data shared by authorities.
Sources in the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) told The Hindu that that gross storage in the reservoir, as on February 28, was 16.075 tmc ft against the gross storage capacity of 49.45 tmc ft while the reservoir level in 2023 on the same day (February 28) last year was 107.02 ft while the storage was 28.829 tmc ft.
