A file photo of KRS dam whose water level on Monday, March 20, was 102.75 feet.
The gross cumulative storage across the four major dams in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka has dropped to 50 per cent of its total capacity.
The cumulative gross storage capacity of the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) in Mandya, Kabini in Mysuru, Hemavathi in Hassan, and Harangi in Kodagu is 114.57 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) against which the storage as on Monday, March 20, was 56.82 tmcft which is about 50 per cent of the actual capacity, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
In comparison the cumulative storage across the four dams on the same day last year was 72.72 tmcft which was almost 64 per cent of the storage capacity.
The water level at the KRS was 102.75 ft on Monday as against the full reservoir level of 124.80 ft. The reservoir level was 110.82 ft on the same day last year. The gross storage capacity of the KRS is 49.45 tmcft and the storage on Monday was 25.05 tmcft which is 51 per cent of its gross capacity. The quantum of water stored on the same day last year was 32.55 tmcft.
The gross capacity of the Kabini reservoir is 19.52 tmcft against which the storage on Monday was 7.99 tmcft which is 41 per cent of the maximum capacity. The storage during the same day last year was 12.81 tmcft. The water level in the reservoir was hovering at 2261.61 ft on Monday as against the full reservoir level of 2284 ft. The reservoir level on the same day last year was 2272.14 ft, as per the records maintained by the KSNDMC.
Hemavathi in Gorur in Hassan district is a major feeder to the KRS during crucial summer days, it has 55 per cent of its gross storage as on date. The gross storage capacity of the dam is 37.10 tmcft against which the quantum of water available as on Monday was 20.58 tmcft. Last year, the dam had 21.69 tmcft on the same day. The reservoir level is 2,901.21 ft against the FRL of 2,922 ft.
Harangi near Kushalnagar has a gross storage capacity of 8.50 tmcft against which the available water as on Monday is 3.19 tmcft which is 38 per cent of its actual capacity. There was 5.67 tmcft of water available on the same day last year. The reservoir level was 2,827.03 ft on Monday against the FRL of 2,859 ft.
The temperature levels in the days ahead is set to increase further and the evaporation rate coupled with discharge to the irrigation canals is expected to further reduce the storage levels in the upcoming days. But, the onset of South West Monsoon is still more than two and a half months away and hence calls for caution in water management.
