COIMBATORE: A day after Mettur Dam reached its Full Reservoir Level (FRL), the release of surplus water through 16-vent Ellis Saddle surplus sluices was stopped following a drop in inflow on Monday.
Following heavy rains in the Cauvery catchment areas in Karnataka, the inflow into the dam surged above 30,000 cusecs on Sunday and reached its FRL of 120 feet on Sunday 8 am. The dam filled up first on June 29 and again on July 5.
However, the inflow dropped to 23,000 cusecs on Monday afternoon and further down to 18,000 cusecs around evening.
Therefore, the release of excess water through the vents was stopped. For Delta irrigation, 22,500 cusecs of water and another 500 cusecs for canal irrigation have been released from the dam.
As inflow into the dam is less than the outflow, the water storage level in the dam is likely to drop in the coming days. Similarly, the water realised at Biligundlu, the entry point of River Cauvery into Tamil Nadu, also dropped to 24,000 cusecs on Monday, 8 am and further down to 20,000 cusecs around 11 am. It was above 40,000 cusecs on Sunday.
As the inflow reduced, the Dharmapuri District Collector R Sadheesh issued an order resuming coracle operations in Hogenakkal Falls. However, the ban on tourists from bathing in the falls continued for the second day.
Similarly, the Sholayar Dam in Valparai continues in its FRL of 160 feet due to heavy rains over the last few days. The dam recorded an inflow of 2,928 cusecs, and a surplus of 3323.62 cusecs was released on Monday.