Mysore/Mysuru: There is only 6.5 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water at Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam in Srirangapatna Taluk of Mandya District and Kabini Dam in H.D. Kote Taluk of Mysuru District. Both these reservoirs take care of the drinking water needs of the residents of Mysuru, Mandya and Bengaluru.
The low storage levels and lack of rains due to a delayed onset of South West Monsoon is causing concern among the people who are staring at a potential drinking water scarcity. The photographs of KRS Dam taken a couple of days back paint a grim picture with depleted water level. While KRS Dam has a present water level of 3.5 tmcft, the level at Kabini stands at 3 tmcft.
The maximum level of KRS Dam is 124.80 ft and today’s level stands at 82.32 ft against last year’s 105.55 ft. There is an inflow of 570 cusecs unlike last year when it was 1,425 cusecs. The outflow this year is 3,233 cusecs as against 1,143 cusecs last year.
According to engineers, Reservoir will reach dead storage level (water becomes unusable) if it reaches 60 ft. At present, the level stands at 22 ft above the dead storage level.
Engineers said that actually, the present water level is 11.84 tmcft and the drinking water part is only 3.5 tmcft while the rest is dead storage level. “We have reserved 3.5 tmcft only for drinking water purposes and we are not releasing water for fresh crops. 3,233 cusecs outflow is due to water that is being released for old and standing crops,” an engineer at KRS told Star of Mysore this morning.
When asked about low water storage level, he noted that as per the directive of Supreme Court water has been released in May to Tamil Nadu from KRS and Kabini.
“We have not released the June quota to TN as we are facing a drinking water problem. Likewise, it is not possible to release water to new crops and water will be released only if KRS Dam level crosses the 100 ft mark,” the Engineer explained.
In the Kabini Reservoir, there is a present storage level of 3 tmcft. The maximum is 2,284 ft and today’s level stands at 2,249 ft. While the Dam has a capacity of storing 19.25 tmcft, the present level is 17.75 tmcft of which only 3 tmcft is available for drinking with the rest coming under dead storage level — 2, 221 ft.
Meanwhile, farmers in Mysuru are expressing concerns due to the delayed onset of the monsoon, resulting in below-average rainfall. As of June 12, the region has received only 24 mm of rainfall, which is 33 percent below the average.
Interestingly, the pre-monsoon period witnessed higher-than-normal rainfall, which positively impacted agricultural activities. Farmers were able to complete sowing in approximately 32 percent of the total target area. During the period between May 1 and 23, Mysuru received a substantial rainfall of 134 mm, which was 56 percent above the normal levels.
This post was published on June 15, 2023 8:39 pm