Water level at dams going up

Water level in the Periyar and Vaigai dams is rising fast thanks to increased inflow after the onset of northeast monsoon.

In the last one week, the level in the Periyar dam has shot up by over five feet and stood at 123.50 feet (permissible level 136 feet) on Monday. With an increased inflow of 5,160 cusecs, the level is likely to go up substantially in the coming days. The discharge from the dam was 1,342 cusecs.

The level in the Vaigai dam has gone up by more than six feet on Thursday since October 25. It stood at 63.12 feet (71 feet) with an inflow of 5,440 cusecs and a discharge of 60 cusecs.

Since the rain, under the impact of low-pressure in the Bay of Bengal, is likely to continue for some more days, the storage in the dams is set to swell further. In the last one week, the combined Periyar credit has gone up by 1,322 mcft. It stood at 4,778 mcft.

With continuous widespread rainfall in the Periyar-Vaigai basin, farmers of the double and single crop areas are presently not dependent on water release from dams for irrigation.

The storage has improved from a worrisome position to a comfortable level. The Public Works Department had to introduce turn system of irrigation on October 25 — within 25 days after irrigation started for the single crop area and the second crop of the double crop area. “The storage is comfortable now. We can expect monsoon rains till December,” said P. Dhanapalan, Executive Engineer, Periyar Vaigai Basin Circle.

Rainfall

Shanmuganadi recorded 55 mm of rainfall followed by Uthamapalayam 45, Tekkadi 23, Veerapandi 21, Viraghanoor 19, Gudalur 14.5, Periyar dam 13.2, Madurai 12, Kodaikanal 8, Vaigai dam and Sittampatti 7 each, Mettupatti 6.8, Kallandiri 5.2, Marudhanadi 5.1, Andipatti 5, Pulipatti 4, Kuppanampatti and Sattaiyar dam 3.2 each, Sothuparai dam, Peranai and Melur 3 each and Manjalar dam 2.