The Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) across the Cauvery in Mandya district is filled to the brim for the first time during the current monsoon.
The water level was 124.70 ft as against the full reservoir level of 124.80 ft at 6 p.m. on Sunday. A buffer is maintained to ensure safety of the reservoir during monsoon so as to cope with a sudden surge in inflow due to extreme weather conditions. The inflow into the reservoir was at the rate of 9,404 cusecs on Sunday morning and the outflow was pegged at 5,318 cusecs.
Consequent to the dam attaining its maximum level, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa will offer the customary bagina at both KRS and the Kabini on August 21, according to Mysuru district in-charge Minister S.T. Somashekar.
The KRS authorities said that depending on the inflow water may be further impounded so as to reach the exact FRL but even in case it is not, the dam is now considered to be full.
The water level was hovering around 105 ft in the first week of August but revival of monsoon and heavy rains in the catchment area of the Cauvery and its tributaries helped the reservoir reach the present level. Last year, the dam attained the FRL on August 15.
The other three major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin in the State are also full. The Hemavathi has reached its FRL of 2,922 ft, the Kabini attained the FRL of 2,284 ft, and the Harangi was full at 2,859 ft. The cumulative quantum of water available in the four dams is 112.50 thousand million cubic (TMC) ft as against the gross installed storage capacity of 114.57 tmcft. The cumulative outflow from KRS and the Kabini reservoir from June 1 as of date is 70 tmcft.
