The water level of the Mullaperiyar dam has been hovering around 142 ft consecutively for the last two weeks. This is the current maximum permissible level since the dispute over the dam was raised in 1979.
An official of the Water Resources Department points out that though there had been several instances of the water level touching the 142-ft mark, the duration of such occasions was very short — one or two days. But this time, thanks to the almost continuous rain in the catchment, the water level of the dam has remained around 142 ft.
A perusal of the data on water levels of the dam in the last two weeks reveals that it was on November 29 that the level almost touched 142 ft — It was 141.9 ft then. As the inflow was about 2,200 cubic feet per second (cusecs), the discharge through the tunnels was 1,867 cusecs and through the river, 833 cusecs. Given the dam’s position, when the release takes place through the river, the water flows westward, to Kerala. The situation gets reversed if the drawal of water is done through the tunnels.
The next day, the water level went up to the maximum permissible limit of 142 ft.
[As per the existing regulations of the Central Water Commission, the water level could touch the 142-ft-mark only on November 30.]
The level remained at 142 ft for two more days. After a dip in the level for a few days, it rose again to the permissible mark.
December 6 was an eventful day as the discharge through the river was about 5,690 cusecs, and on December 7, it was 4,060 cusecs. On those two days, the drawal through the tunnel was in the range of 1,200 cusecs to 1,670 cusecs. Again, on December 9, the level rose to 142 ft and was static till December 11.
On Monday, the water level stood at 141.95 ft.
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