Water discharge from Mettur dam for delta irrigation ends after 53 days

After 53 days, water discharged from the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur for delta irrigation ended on Friday night (October 23, 2026). At present, water is being discharged for drinking water purposes.

According to the schedule, June 12 is the allocated date for releasing water from Mettur dam for delta irrigation. For 230 days until January 28, water would be discharged for delta irrigation depending on the presence of water in the dam. This year, due to poor availability, water discharge for delta irrigation was delayed for 80 days. On September 1, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay released the water for delta irrigation. The Water Resources Department (WRD) announced that the water would be discharged for 45 days until October 15. However, water discharged continued after October 15, but the amount of water released was reduced based on the water demand in the delta.

Meanwhile, after 53 days, on Friday at 10 p.m., the water discharged for delta irrigation was stopped and 1,000 cusecs of water is being discharged for drinking water purposes.

Officials attached to the WRD said due to rainfall in the delta region, the amount of water discharged from the dam has been reduced to 1,000 cusecs. If heavy rain lashes the catchment areas and inflow into the dam increases in coming days, the government would consider releasing water again for delta irrigation. Per month, 2.5 tmcft of water is to be discharged (if 1,000 cusecs is released from the dam) for drinking water purposes. At present, the dam holds 20.80 tmcft of water.

As heavy rain has been predicted in the Northeast monsoon season, the dam is expected to receive water in the upcoming days. For 53 days (from September 1 to October 23), Mettur dam received 18.5 tmcft of water and 50.5 tmcft discharged from the dam for delta irrigation. From June 1 to October 23, the dam received 44.5 tmcft of water and 62 tmcft of water discharged, officials added.

On Saturday (October 24, 2026) at 8 a.m., the dam’s water level stood at 54.56 feet against its full reservoir level of 120 feet. The storage level stood at 20.80 tmcft compared to its full capacity of 93.47 tmcft. Inflow into the dam reduced to 1,409 cusecs from 1,681 cusecs. The amount of water discharged from the dam into River Cauvery for drinking water purposes was maintained at 1,000 cusecs.