Water was not opened from Mettur Dam for canal irrigation on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: File Photo by LAKSHMI NARAYANAN E.
Water was not released from Stanley Reservoir in Mettur for the east and west bank canals on the scheduled date, August 1, on Saturday.Usually, water from Mettur Dam would be released on June 12 for delta irrigation based on availability. This year, due to poor availability, water was not released from the dam on June 12. Likewise, after water discharge for delta irrigation, water would be discharged from the dam for canal irrigation on August 1, which will continue for 137 days until December 15.Based on the water availability, these days would also increase. Through the discharge of water for canal irrigation, over 45,000 acres will get irrigated in Salem, Namakkal, and Erode districts. For canal irrigation, water discharge began in 1955. In the past 71 years, 62 times, water was discharged for canal irrigation from Mettur Dam - 35 times on August 1, 14 times before August 1 and for 13 times, water was discharged after August 1.This year, due to poor availability in Mettur Dam, water was not released for canal irrigation on Saturday.Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) in Mettur Dam said that the first preference was for delta irrigation. Only after delta irrigation, water would be discharged for canal irrigation. As per the Indian Meteorological Department forecast, rain started in Karnataka and the catchment areas of Mettur Dam. In the next few days, inflow into the dam might increase, the officials added.On Saturday, water level in Mettur Dam stood at 73.49 feet against its full capacity of 120 feet. The storage stood at 35.77 tmc ft against its full capacity of 93.47 tmc ft. Inflow into the dam reduced to 42 cusecs from 54 cusecs. The discharge from the dam into River Cauvery for drinking purposes increased to 1,500 cusecs from 1,000 cusecs. Published - August 01, 2026 06:30 pm IST
