Idukki water level on the rise

There was heavy rain in the catchment of the Idukki reservoir on Saturday, the highest since the beginning of the monsoon.

The water level rose nearly 3 ft to 2,342.48 ft on Saturday from 2,339.66 ft on Friday. The water level was 2313.38 ft on the same day last year.

The rainfall on Saturday was 93.6 mm, an official at the Dam Monitoring and Research Station, Vazhathoppe, said adding that it was the highest since the beginning of the southwest monsoon, which gained strength from June 20.

The water level in the dam was comfortable now, at nearly 40 per cent of the reservoir level. There was good inflow through the Periyar as Peerumade taluk received good rainfall.

Power generation at the Moolamattom power house was 2.92 mu on Saturday. A senior KSEB official told The Hindu that there was an increase of 12 ft in water level in the reservoir following the summer rain. The lowest water level this season was 30 ft more than that of the previous season, when it touched nearly 2,300 ft.

The official said one of the factors that contributed to the present storage level was the better summer rain, which had been put at 395 mm.

The water level in the Mullaperiyar dam, upstream of the Periyar, was also rising at an average of one ft a day. The water level was 125.4 ft on Saturday, an official of the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department said.