Kumily: With many parts of Kerala witnessing heavy rains in the last few weeks, dams and reservoirs are now almost full. With the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam rising to 136 feet, Tamil Nadu has sounded the first alert to Kerala.
The second alert would be issued when the water level reaches 138 ft. The first alert is given ahead of the opening of the spillway shutters of the dam at 140 ft and the second alert is given at 141 ft.
The water level in the dam on Monday evening was 136.20 ft.
The water level in a dam is calculated by measuring the difference in height between the current water surface and the spillway discharge.
Last year on the same day, the water level in Mullaperiyar dam was only 114.6 ft. With the water level crossing 136 ft, the amount of water being taken by Tamil Nadu from the dam has been increased from 900 cusecs to 1,867 cusecs. The power generation at the Lower Camp powerhouse too had been increased to the upper limit of 168 MW.
(Cusec is a unit of flow (especially of water) equal to one cubic foot per second.)
The Mullaperiyar dam, which is located at Vallakkadavu in the Peermade taluk of Idukki district, was inaugurated on October 10, 1895. It has been in the middle of many debates and disputes between the two states.
Vaigai dam full
The water level in the Vaigai dam, which receives and stores water from Mullaperiyar, has almost reached its maximum capacity of 71 ft. At present, the water level in the Vaigai dam is 68.5 ft. Following the rise in level, water is being released to Madurai from the Vaigai dam.
The water stored in the ponds and Vaigai dam is used for drinking, agriculture and power generation in Theni, Madurai, Dindigul, Ramnad and Sivaganga districts of Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, with the rainfall subsiding in the catchment areas of the Mullaperiyar dam, the flow of water to the reservoir has reduced. On Sunday morning the water flow was 4,875 cusecs which came down to 3,033 cusecs on Monday.