Heavy to very heavy showers in the rain-starved catchments for the last eight days have resulted in the total storage going up by about 6.5 tmcft in all four reservoirs in the State’s Cauvery basin.
Many parts of south-interior Karnataka have been experiencing torrential rain since August 22. Consequently, Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir in Mandya district, Harangi in Kodagu, Hemavati in Hassan, and Kabini in Mysuru districts have been receiving good inflow.
The copious rain has lifted the hopes of farmers who have cultivated various crops in the rain-fed areas of the basin and have also provided relief from fear of a possible escalation of drinking water crisis in towns and villages, which are dependent on them.
KRS level
Rain in Kodagu has pushed up the storage level in KRS, a main water source for several districts in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The live storage in KRS has increased from 7.769 tmcft on August 22 to 9.852 tmcft on August 29 in spite of releasing around 1.8 tmcft to Tamil Nadu and another 0.5 tmcft to canals, said officials at the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL).
The water level of KRS stood at 93.52 ft as against the maximum of 124.8 ft. The level on the corresponding day last year was 92.78 ft.
Heavy rainfall in Wayanad region in Kerala, the catchment of Kabini, has pushed up the level of reservoir since last week. Kabini had 2,268.43 ft of water against the full reservoir level of 2,284 on August 22 with a storage of 10.92 tmcft. The level increased to 2,272.25 ft and storage to 12.8 tmcft at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, said Irrigation Department officials. The reservoir level on the same day last year was 2,275.5 ft.
Harangi and Hemavati
While another major reservoir Harangi is nearing its capacity with a level of 2,858.18 ft (full reservoir level is 2,859 ft), Hemavati is yet to receive 29 ft of water to attain the full reservoir level of 2,922 ft. However, the officials hope that the level would significantly increase from Tuesday as the inflow was at the rate of 7,996 cusecs owing to heavy downpour in the Western Ghats around Sakleshpur region in Hassan district.
The storage in Hemavati, however, decreased from 19.01 tmcft on August 22 to 15.88 tmcft on August 29 owing to release of water to canals for filling tanks in some parts of Tumakuru.
Live storage
According to CNNL sources, live storage of these reservoirs has increased by at least 6.5 tmcft since August 22 even after discharging water to Tamil Nadu and canals.