SALEM: Water level in the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur, the lifeline of Cauvery delta region in the state, has been depleting fast due to poor inflow, leaving the delta farmers worried.
The dam's water is dropping at the rate of one foot per day, and stood at 55.16ft against its full capacity of 120ft.
According to water resources department data, the dam was brimming to its full reservoir level (FRL) during the same period last year.
In the preceding years too, the dam had more water than the current level (86 feet in August 10, 2020, and 74 feet in 2021 same period).
As Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah ruled out release of additional quantum of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, farmers and water managers here have expressed concern over the depleting storage in Mettur.
"Kuruvai paddy crops have started withering in Cauvery delta districts, and it's too late to save the crops even if Karnataka released water," said PR Pandian, president of Tamil Nadu All Farmers Association's Coordination Committee.
Pandian said given the precarious situation, farmers have lost hope on nurturing the kuruvai crops till harvest. "Now, they are worried if they could at least cultivate paddy in the samba season," he said.
The inflow to the dam had dipped to 3,056 cusecs and the outflow had to be lowered to 6,000 cusecs. "We have reduced the water discharging level to the delta districts from 9,000 cusecs to 6,000 cusecs from Saturday onwards," an official from the WRD said.
State water resources department officials said the last time they witnessed a crisis was in 2017, when the water level dipped below 25ft, just three feet short of the dead storage level in Mettur dam. "We hope that the situation might not deteriorate to that level this year," said an officer.
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