Following heavy rainfall in the catchment area, the water level rose over 1.7 ft over the past 24 hours in the Idukki reservoir. According to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) dam safety officials, the water level on Sunday stood at 2,341.38 ft, which is 38.60% of the total storage capacity, as against 2,385.04 ft (79.45%) the same day last year.
A KSEB dam safety official said that for the past three days, the upstream areas of the reservoir had received heavy rainfall, resulting in increased storage in the dam. “If the same active spell occurs in the catchment areas, the storage will increase by nearly 5 to 6 ft within two or three days. The catchment areas of the Idukki reservoir received 65.2 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours.”
“Compared to the previous year, there is a shortage of 44.36 ft of water in the reservoir. To ensure maximum storage, power generation was reduced in the Moolamattom power plant. Power generation on Saturday was 1.024 million units (mu),” said the official.
Weak monsoon
A top KSEB dam safety official told The Hindu that the expected storage of the Idukki reservoir in December is 2,385 ft to manage power generation and drinking water needs during the summer season in the State. “Normally the reservoir receives 70% of storage through southwest monsoon and 30% through northeast monsoon. But this year, the southwest monsoon was very weak in the upstream areas of the reservoir and resulted in low storage,” said the official.
According to officials, due to the absence of proper rain in June, the storage level in the Idukki reservoir had dropped to 13%. The storage in July last week was 32%, and it further reduced to 28.7% in August. The rainfall in September last week helped increase the storage by 38% on October 1.
In major dams
The storage in major hydel dams rose to 50% of the total storage on Sunday. The storage levels in several key dams on Sunday were as follows: Pampa (56%), Sholayar (97%), Idamalayar (55%), Kundala (97%), Mattupetty (64), Kuttiyady (64%), Thariyode (77%), Anayirankal (39%), Ponmudi (74%), Neriamangalam (73%), Peringalkuthu (59%) and Lower Periyar (79%).
The water level in the Mullaperiyar dam on Sunday was 120.25 ft. The water level has risen nearly one foot in the past 24 hours. The maximum allowed level is 142 ft.
