Fall in water level at KRS Dam worries citizens; problem will aggravate if rains fail

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: With no rain in the catchment areas of the Krishna Raja Sagar(KRS) Reservoir in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district, the water level in the dam has dropped to the level during the corresponding period five years ago. As against the maximum level of 124.80 ft, the water level on Thursday stood at 82.32 ft.

There has been no inflow of water into the dam. Last year, on the same day, the water level was 105 feet. The KRS dam is the lifeline for people of Mysuru, Mandya, Bengaluru, and Ramanagar districts both for drinking water and irrigation purposes. The monsoon is yet to become active in the catchment areas due to which the dam is fast drying up.

The total capacity of KRS reservoir is 49.452 tmc ft and currently, 11.847 tmc ft of water is available. But of 11.847 tmc ft, only 4.847 tmc of water can be used and the rest is dead storage and cannot be used. If the rains fail this month, there will be a severe scarcity of drinking water in the four districts.