Even as the southwest monsoon has weakened in the catchment areas of the Cauvery in Kodagu district, the water level in Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir has crossed the 110-feet mark.
The reservoir is the lifeline of several districts in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and it was in 2013 that it hit the full reservoir level (FRL) of 124.8 feet. The level reached 110-ft mark in 2015.
The level in KRS, constructed across the Cauvery near Srirangapatna, stood at 110.15 feet at 6 a.m. on Thursday. On October 5 last year, it was 88.3 ft.
The gross storage of KRS was 31.872 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) and the live storage was 23.493 tmcft on Thursday. The live storage on the corresponding day last year was 6.571 tmcft. The maximum live storage of KRS is 45.051 tmcft, and the full gross storage capacity is 49.452 tmcft.
Owing to repeated monsoon failure, the water level has fallen to the dead storage level (74 feet) in the past few years. However, downpour in the catchment areas over the past six weeks and discharge of water from Hemavati dam in Gorur of Hassan district significantly increased the KRS level, say officials working with Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd.
The increase in water level has brought cheer to the farming community as water is now expected to be available for their cattle and summer crops. Two other reservoirs in the Cauvery basin — Kabini in Mysuru district and Harangi in Kodagu district — have already hit their FRL. But official say hopes of KRS doing the same are low as the monsoon season is about to end. However, heavy rain is expected in the catchments of the Cauvery in Kodagu and upstream of KRS in Mandya on Friday owing to the depression over the Bay of Bengal. Therefore, the reservoir level could increase by at least a few feet by October 10, a senior Irrigation Department official told The Hindu.
