Release of water from Mettur dam for irrigation suspended after about 50 days

On Monday (October 26, 2026), the storage in Mettur dam was 20,846 tmcft, with the water level remaining at 54.6 feet. Photo credit: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN

Authorities have stopped releasing water from the Mettur dam for irrigation in the Cauvery delta after providing water for about 50 days.

A survey of discharge data shows that since October 18, authorities have begun to gradually reduce the amount of water discharged. It was about 8,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) that day.

Three days later the discharge was reduced to around 6,000 cusecs and on 22 October it was down to around 3,600 cusecs. Four days later, on Monday, the flow was nearly 1,000 cusecs, which was meant for drinking water and ecological flow requirements.

On September 1, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay formally started the water release and the government had already said then that in view of the poor implementation of the state’s share of the Cauvery waters, the release would only be for 45 days.

The official confirmed the suspension of releases and said the idea was to build a convenient storage facility at the dam before deciding to resume releases. On Monday, the storage in Mettur dam was 20,846 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft), while the water level remained at 54.6 ft.

Details of dam capacity and full level are 93.47 tmcft and 120 feet respectively. As on October 22, the realization of Cauvery water by the state since June 1 was about 50.6 tmcft. It was about 6.4 tmcft in the current month alone.

The appeal of leaders

Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran criticized the state government for not taking swift action to fill the post of vice-chairman of the Cauvery Technical Cell, a unit of the water resources department that deals with all inter-state river water issues.

The position has remained vacant since the resignation of the previous incumbent at the end of June. It was only on October 9 that the government issued an order to fill the post, they pointed out. They wanted the government to appoint someone to the post immediately.

Published – 26 Oct 2026 23:24 IST