Delta waterbodies to fill up soon
As farmers look forward to a bountiful yield season, the officials at the river irrigation department predict that all the waterbodies maintained by them will fill up by October.
Mettur Dam
TIRUCHY: Waterbodies in the Delta region are either full or filling over 50 per cent, thanks to the continuous rainfall and the steady inflow from Mettur. As farmers look forward to a bountiful yield season, the officials at the river irrigation department predict that all the waterbodies maintained by them will fill up by October.
The reservoir remained at the full storage level from August 20 to 23, and the steady release for Delta irrigation had filled most of the waterbodies. Apart from Mettur, the region received 177.1 mm of rain in the third week of August during the Southwest monsoon against the actual 138.4 mm.
As a result of this rain, the Cauvery, Vennaru and the Grand Anaicut Canal were brimming, and the waterbodies for irrigation also rapidly filled up, thus recharging the canals in the Delta.
"Around 200 waterbodies, of the total 764 lakes and tanks in the Delta, reached 75 per cent of storage while 100 lakes and tanks reached full capacity," said a Water Resources department official.
The official added that the storage has been declining at the lakes and tanks as water has been regularly redirected to irrigation, but release from Mettur would soon restore the storage level. "So, there is nothing to worry about," the official assured.
Farmers were also delighted that the increased levels at lakes and ponds have recharged the groundwater table as well. "We get water in just 20 feet in several places, and the steady rainfall and discharge of water from Mettur could maintain the groundwater level," said R Palanivel, a farmer from Pappanadu in Thanjavur.
