Outflow from Almatti dam increased

Irrigation officials have increased outflow from the Lal Bahadur Shastri reservoir in Almatti to reduce flooding in the Krishna basin.

Outflow from the reservoir on the Krishna rose to 1.26 lakh cusecs against the inflow of around 1.26 lakh cusecs. The balance would ensure that the reservoir does not impound any more water than the current levels of 116.34 tmcft of water at a height of 519.2 metres.

The “zero impounding” technique would be abandoned if the inflow drops to more than half the current levels, an irrigation officer said. The maximum storage in the dam is 123 tmcft at a height of 519.6 m. Rainfall has abated in most places, and in Khanapur taluk, it has subsided reducing inflow into most reservoirs.

However, rainfall in some south Maharashtra districts led to water release into the Krishna and its tributaries. Water release from Maharashtra stood at the rate of 98,000 cusecs, nearly half of the release in the first week of August. Inflow into the Hidkal dam forced officers to release around 10,000 cusecs into the Ghataprabha by opening all 10 gates. The dam now has 29 tmcft of water against its gross capacity of 37.3 tmcft.