Following recent spells of moderate rain in the Nilgiris, storage in all dams and reservoirs across the district is at more than 90 %, officials from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) confirmed.
Due to the rain that continued till Thursday morning, water level at the district’s largest dams of Upper Bhavani, Avalanche, Emerald, Pykara, Parsons Valley, Porthimund and Geddai stood at well above 90 %.
According to Tangedco officials, storage at Upper Bhavani, Avalanche and Emerald are at between 95 and 98 % of full capacity, while the Parsons Valley Dam, which supplies water to Udhagamandalam town, is at 97 % capacity, with water level at 75 feet at the dam which has a total level of 77 feet.
The only dam in the district below 90 % of storage capacity was the Mukurthi Dam at 88 %, the officials said. The Ralliah Dam, which supplies water to Coonoor town, is also almost full.
Rain continued across parts of the Nilgiris till Thursday morning, with an average of 17.49 mm of rainfall. The Kundah watershed received some of the highest rainfall, with heavy rain being recorded in Kinnakorai and Geddai. Heavy rain was also recorded in Balocola, Coonoor, Ketti and Kodanad near Kotagiri.
Tangedco officials said people living in villages further downstream had already been warned that water might be released from the dams if the rain continued, which would cause a temporary surge in the water level along the rivers, and that the residents had been urged to stay away from the banks of rivers.
Due to the good rain over the last few months, it was likely that water supply to the major towns in the district would be assured during the summer this year, the officials said.
