Reservoir just 5 feet short of attaining maximum level of 124.8 feet 

Mysore/Mysuru: Crest gates of Krishna Raja Sagar in Mandya District have been opened to release water to Cauvery River and Canals. The Dam is receiving 97,533 cusecs of water as it rained heavily in Kodagu since the last couple of days. Today morning’s water level stood at 119.36 ft as against the maximum level of 124.80 feet, just short of 5.44 feet. 

The Dam has recorded an outflow of 73,201 cusecs into the River and 1,358 cusecs to Canals. However, tourists cannot view the splendid sight of the water release from the Dam as entry has been restricted due to COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dam officials told Star of Mysore this morning that they were closely monitoring the inflow rate and accordingly would increase or decrease the outflow.  Moreover the rains have abated in Kodagu and the inflow will automatically decrease in the next 24 to 48 hours, the officials said.

 “For us, the safety of the Dam is paramount and we cannot store water in excess. Also, we cannot release more water. We have to maintain a balance. Our team of officials and workers are stationed in the Dam 24/7 and all are monitoring the situation closely,” the official added. 

The cumulative outflow from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) was 14 tmcft from June 1 to Aug. 8, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). The gross capacity of the KRS is 49.45 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet). 

KSNDMC said that the cumulative discharge from Kabini and KRS from June 1 till Aug.8 is 39 tmcft and this is almost equal to the June and July quota of Karnataka’s obligation to lower riparian State of Tamil Nadu.

When the water level at KRS touched the 100 feet mark on July 8 this year, officials from Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited (CNNL) that manages the Dam had told Star of Mysore that they had utilised the lockdown time to repair and maintain the 173 crest gates so that they can receive more and more water till the Dam reaches its brim. The gates were also made ready to discharge water as and when the Dam reaches its maximum level of 124.80 feet. The KRS Dam has 173 crest gates when it was built in 1932.