Cauvery flow from Kabini expected to reach Mettur by Monday night
Water released from the Kabini Dam in Karnataka is expected to reach the Tamil Nadu boundary on Monday and flow into the Mettur Dam by Monday night or Tuesday, according to Water Resources Department (WRD) officials.
The release began on Saturday morning following heavy rainfall in Karnataka’s catchment areas. Initially set at 500 cusecs, the discharge was gradually increased to 5,000 cusecs in the afternoon and further raised to 25,000 cusecs by Saturday night.
Officials said the flow has been slower than anticipated because the Cauvery riverbed is dry and has absorbed a significant amount of water. The water was originally expected to reach Tamil Nadu by Sunday evening, but officials now believe it will arrive at Mettur Dam on Monday night or Tuesday.
“We expect the present discharge of 25,000 cusecs to continue for the next few days. If the Mettur Dam receives 25,000 cusecs of inflow for an entire day, the water level will rise by about four feet. Once the reservoir level crosses 90 feet, the government will decide on releasing water from the dam for delta irrigation,” WRD officials said.
The officials also noted that Tamil Nadu is likely to receive a substantial quantity of Cauvery water only after the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) Dam in Karnataka fills up. Currently, the reservoir holds around 20 tmc ft against its storage capacity of 49.45 tmc ft. If the current spell of rain continues, the KRS Dam is expected to reach capacity within the next 10 days, after which surplus water may flow into Mettur.
On Sunday, the water level at Mettur Dam stood at 73.33 feet against its full reservoir level of 120 feet. Storage was recorded at 35.63 tmc ft, compared with the dam’s capacity of 93.47 tmc ft. Inflow into the reservoir increased marginally to 47 cusecs from 42 cusecs, while discharge for drinking water purposes into the Cauvery river was maintained at 1,500 cusecs.
The release from Kabini is part of the ongoing sharing of Cauvery water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Officials said the situation will become clearer once rainfall patterns in Karnataka’s catchment areas stabilise and the KRS reservoir reaches its full capacity.
