Tamil Nadu rivers swell like never before – Times of India

CHENNAI: Heavy rain triggered by the depression on Friday and release of surplus water from the dams, reservoirs and tanks in Kancheepuram and other districts in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh led to a sudden surge in water levels in the Palar River. The sparse river that had been perennially dry swelled like never before and presented a grand spectacle.
The inflow into the river increased on Sunday and public works department officials said the discharges were more than a lakh cusecs of water. Old-timers said the Palar River had not been in spate for decades and some say not in a century. Several villages in Vellore district were disconnected after most of the rivers gushed and several low-lying bridges were submerged.
Most of the rivers, including Thenpennaiyar and Kedilam, in Cuddalore district are in spate after dams and reservoirs in their regions released surplus water. Villages along the banks of the two rivers were inundated. The water level in Sathanur Dam with a full capacity of 119 feet was maintained at 99 feet as the public works department has taken up maintenance work of its sluice gates. Hence all the surplus water received from Pampar Dam in Krishnagiri district was released from Sathanur Dam.
Meanwhile, the residents of delta districts of the state breathed a sigh of relief as the flood water that inundated their localities began to recede on Sunday. The residents got some respite as the rain took a respite, resulting in draining of flood water from hundreds of villages in the districts. The flow in both Cauvery and Kollidam rivers passing through Trichy was maintained at 18,940 cusecs and 50,701 cusecs respectively as of Sunday night. This was because the inflow was only from the surplus water discharged from the Mettur dam that attained maximum storage capacity. PWD officials said the situation in both the rivers was not alarming. There was no rainfall in the city or other immediate catchment areas on Sunday. While the Cauvery river can manage a maximum flow of 1 lakh cusecs and the flood carrier of delta districts, the Kollidam river can handle 2.50 lakh cusecs of water at a time. Cauvery river is handling only 18% of its capacity while Kollidam handles 25% of its designated capacity. Since the recent heavy rainfall in the Cauvery delta districts have eliminated the need for canal-based irrigation, PWD officials said the water flow in Cauvery river heading to Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts was restricted.