In a spot of good news, the release of water from Idamalayar dam in Ernakulam district has been reduced from 600 cumecs to 500 cumecs from 7 a.m. on Friday.
While the water level remains 15 centimetres above the full reservoir limit of 169 metres, authorities are confident of bringing it down to that limit by afternoon through controlled release of water. Gradually, they hope to bring it down the release of water below 500 cumecs.
The reduction of 100 cumecs in the water release was made possible after the first shutter was lowered to one metre from the previous two metres. The second and third shutters remain open by two metres and fourth by one metre.
The last time when the shutters of Idamalayar dam were opened in 2013, the maximum peak outflow was around 900 cumecs. The shutters remain opened for about a month at that time though the release was adjusted depending on the inflow.
So, the water being released is still only two-third of what was released back then. The unprecedented rain in Idukki and the resultant surge in inflow is what has contributed to the present crisis rather than the release of water from Idamalayar dam, sources said.
