COIMBATORE: The Mettur dam reached its full reservoir level (FRL) of 120 feet for the fourth time this year on Friday.

As the dam got filled up, a flood alert was sounded to people living along the banks of the river Cauvery in downstream areas.

The dam filled up first on June 29, then on July 5 and on July 20. The water level then dropped slightly.

With rains resuming in Cauvery catchment areas, the inflow into the dam rose from 19,065 cusecs on Friday morning to 25,000 cusecs on Friday, 6 pm.

Therefore, the storage level also increased from 119.98 feet on Thursday morning to 120 feet on Friday evening.

Besides the discharge of 18,400 cusecs through the dam’s power houses for Delta and canal irrigation, the surplus of around 7,000 cusecs has been released through Ellis saddle surplus vents.

A flood alert has been sounded to people living in villages along the banks of the Cauvery river through a public address system.

Last year, the dam reached its FRL thrice and notably it got filled up for the third time on December 31; however, the reservoir got filled up four times by July itself, this year.