The combined storage of reservoirs in Tamil Nadu is inching towards 200 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft). On November 10, it was 199.165 tmc ft, accounting for 89% of the capacity of 90 reservoirs.
On November 10, 2020, the figure was about 140 tmc ft, accounting for 63% of their capacity. The total capacity of the reservoirs in the State is 224.297 tmc ft.
Tamil Nadu rain updates | November 10, 2021
Of the existing storage, the share of three reservoirs in the Cauvery basin — Mettur, Bhavanisagar and Amaravathy — is two-thirds with 126.827 tmc ft which, in turn, includes 91.883 tmc ft at Mettur, 31.131 tmc ft at Bhavanisagar and 3.8 tmc ft at Amaravathy. All three are almost full.
As for the Parambikulam group of reservoirs, four major reservoirs — Parambikulam, Aliyar, Sholayar and Thirumoorthy — have very comfortable storage. Except Thirumoorthy, whose storage is about 87% of capacity, the other three are virtually full.
In respect of the Mullaperiyar-Vaigai network, the former’s storage is 6.8 tmc ft, about 89% of the permitted storage of 7.67 tmc ft. The latter’s storage is 5.639 tmc ft, equivalent to 93% of its capacity. Kanniyakumari’s two key reservoirs — Pechiparai and Perunchani — have a storage of about 85%.
In the northern districts of the State, the biggest reservoir in the region, Sathanur, is an outlier, with its storage not touching even one-half of its capacity. The reservoir’s storage is 3.392 tmc ft, about 46% of its capacity. Veeranam, a historic tank in Cuddalore district, has a storage of 0.892 tmc ft, about 61% of its capacity.
In respect of reservoirs supplying water to Chennai, their levels have been lowered in anticipation of further floods. Consequently, their combined storage varies from 73% to 83%.
As for the State’s realisation of Cauvery water, the total realisation since June 1 has exceeded the 150 tmc ft-mark. Up until November 8, it was about 151.64 tmc ft, which was 4.6 tmc ft in excess of the State’s share for the elapsed period.
