The water level at Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir (KRS) in Mandya district, following copious rainfall in the catchment areas of the Cauvery in Kodagu district, and in the upstream of the reservoir, reached 78.15 ft. at 6.30 p.m. on Friday.
The water level at the reservoir near Srirangapatna had dipped to 62.92 ft on June 12, the lowest in 68 years. But, the level rose by 15 ft in the last eight days. Copious rain in the catchment areas of the Cauvery in the last one week had resulted in a significant increase in the inflow into the reservoir. However, the inflow rate slightly decreased on Friday.
The inflow was at the rate of 7,543 cubic feet per second (cusecs) at 6.30 p.m. on Friday. But, the inflow rate was 10,295 cusecs at the same time on Thursday, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL) told The Hindu .
The outflow was at the rate of 1,163 cusecs when the Engineering Regulation Section (Gauging) at KRS measured the outflow rate at 6.30 p.m. on Friday.
The catchment areas of the Cauvery in Madikeri experienced good rainfall in the last a few days. But, Kodagu district received only 4.78 mm rainfall (till 2 p.m.) on Friday, CNNL said.
According to CNNL, Madikeri taluk witnessed only 7.20 mm rainfall on Friday, while Virajpet received 5.6 mm and Somwarpet taluk recorded 1.56 mm rainfall.
Expectations
CNNL is expecting copious rainfall in the catchments of the river on Sunday, which may significantly increase the inflow rate in the coming days at KRS. The maximum water-level at the reservoir is 124.80 ft. Drinking water for Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya and Ramanagaram districts is drawn from the reservoir.
