With Idukki district witnessing a 67% dip in rainfall this monsoon, the water level at the Idukki reservoir has seen a resultant drop. According to dam safety officials of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the water level in the Idukki reservoir on Sunday stood at 2,306.30 ft, which is 14.26% of the total storage capacity, as against 2,337.96 ft (35.92%) on the same day last year.
According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the rain deficiency in Idukki district till June 18 was 67%. While the normal rainfall is about 397.5 mm, the district recorded only 130.6 mm rainfall.
A KSEB dam safety official told The Hindu that if the same situation continues, the water level will drop to 10% of total storage within one week. “To keep minimum storage in the reservoir, only moderate power is generated in the Moolamattom power plant. The power production at the plant on Saturday was 6.142 million units (MU),” said the official.
“Compared with the previous year, there was a shortage of 31.66 ft of water in the Idukki reservoir. The main reason is that the catchment areas of the reservoir has not received heavy rain,” he said.
Increased power consumption
“The water level had dropped below 2,300 ft during the 1980-2000 period. But the power consumption was very low in the month of June. But this year due to the absence of proper rain, the power consumption in the State is also at a high. The total power consumption in the State on Saturday was 81.8792 MU.” said the official.
Major dams in the State are witnessing very low storage. On Sunday, it was 16% of total storage, said officials.
The storage levels in several key dams on Sunday were as follows: Pamba (10%), Sholayar (52%), Idamalayar (18%), Kundala (88%), Mattupetty (33%), Kuttiady (21%), Thariyode (8%), Anayirankal (8%), Ponmudi (13%), Neriamangalam (51%) Peringalkuthu (27%) and Lower Periyar (57%).
