Water level in Lower Bhavani Reservoir increases

Erode (Tamil Nadu), May 25 (PTI) The water level of the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) Reservoir in this district is increasing fast due to heavy rain in catchment areas, mainly in Nilgiris district, officials said.

Inflow picked up since Saturday midnight, and reached 4,792 cusecs (cubic feet per second) by 8 am on Sunday, and the water level reached 70.38 feet. The storage was 11.11 tmc feet, according to Water Resources Department (WRD) officials.

The LBP dam was built across the Bhavani River at Bhavanisagar, catering for the irrigational needs of farmers in Erode district and parts of Tiruppur and Karur districts. More than 3 lakh acres in the Erode district are benefited every year.

During the current summer, the quantum of water stored in the dam dwindled, and only 100 cusecs of water was being released till Saturday to satiate the drinking water needs of Sathyamangalam, Gobichettipalayam and Bhavni taluks.

"The water level has started improving and stood at 70.08 feet against the full reservoir level of 105 feet," the officials said by 10 pm on Saturday.

They said 10 thousand million cubic feet (tmc feet) of water was available in the dam as against the capacity of 32.8 tmc feet.

The inflow increased to 1,887 cusecs by midnight on Saturday, and it has gone up further to reach 4,792 cusecs by 8 am on Sunday. The water level reached 70.38 feet, and the storage was 11.11 tmc feet, officials said.

They further said that they are expecting the inflow to increase further on Sunday and Monday due to very heavy rainfall predicted by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts.

The farmers who benefit from LBP, Kalingarayan, Thadepalli and Arakkankottai waterbodies in the district expressed their happiness at the increasing water level in Lower Bhavani Reservoir. PTI CORR ADB