The Stanley Reservoir at Mettur achieved its full reservoir level (FRL) of 120 ft a little after noon on Monday.
This was the 39th time that the Mettur Dam achieved FRL in its 85-year-old history. The last time the dam became full was in the first week of August 2013.
The realisation of water in River Cauvery at Mettur which stood at 68,489 cusecs at 8 a.m. on Monday, rose to 72,486 cusecs by noon. The water level was 119.41 ft (92.534 tmc ft against the dam’s full capacity of 93.47 tmc ft) on Monday morning and the FRL was achieved by a little after noon.
The discharge from the dam was 30,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) in the morning and it was stepped upto 40,000 cusecs by noon, according to Rohini R. Bhajibhakare, District Collector.
While 17,500 cusecs was being discharged through the 16 eye sluices, another 22,500 cusecs was being released through the eight eye sluices.
The official machinery, farmers and the general public celebrated the occasion, by conducting special poojas. R. Senthilkumar, Chief Engineer, Water Resource Department (WRD), Tiruchi region, S. Semmalai, MLA of Mettur, participated in the poojas along with a large number of farmers and local public thanking mother Cauvery for the bountiful inflow.
Mr. Senthilkumar told presspersons that the PWD has taken all effective steps to ensure that the the released water used for filling the 690 and odd lakes and tanks under the delta system without going waste.
He said that special teams of the PWD were patrolling the banks of River Cauvery in all the dozen districts under the Cauvery delta basin to monitor the flow and ensure safety of the people living in the low lying areas in the villages situated on the banks of the river.
The quatum of discharge will be regulated based on the inflow into the dam, he said.
Mr. Semmalai said that achievement of FRL immediately after the formation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA) and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) was a big victory for the farmers of the state.
Meanwhile, Ms. Rohini has once again issued a warning to the people living in the low-lying areas on the banks of the river to move to places of safety along with their belongings and cattle, as more inflow is expected as day passes.
The Collector said that the revenue and PWD officials continue to closely monitor the situation and have been creating awareness among the people to ensure their safety. A team of PWD officials are camping at the Mettur Dam site to monitor the flow.
The Collector said that the disaster management control room was functioning round the clock at the collectorate and the people can contact the toll-free phone number 1077 during any emergency situation.
