Mandya/Mysuru: The water level in Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) reservoir has dropped by nearly 5ft in the past eight days as outflows continue to exceed inflows, raising concerns over drinking water availability for Mysuru, Mandya and Bengaluru if Cauvery inflows do not improve.Officials warned that the situation could become more challenging if Karnataka is required to continue releasing 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days amid poor rainfall in the basin.As of Tuesday, KRS stood at 106.5ft, with an inflow of 2,289 cusecs and an outflow of 4,073 cusecs.K Raghuram, superintendent engineer, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL), said around 2.5tmc of water is required every month for drinking purposes alone. He added that water can be drawn from the reservoir until the level drops to 65ft. He said the state govt has not directed dam authorities to release water to Tamil Nadu.Meanwhile, farmers and Kannada organisations staged a protest on the old Bengaluru-Mysuru highway in Mandya against the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) directive to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days. Protesters termed the order unscientific and argued that Karnataka’s drinking water needs should take priority.To maintain KRS levels, outflows from the Hemavathi reservoir in Hassan district have been increased. The Hemavathi joins the Cauvery at Sangama in KR Pet taluk before flowing into KRS. The move is aimed at helping Karnataka meet Cauvery release obligations, as the Kabini reservoir in HD Kote is nearing depletion.Kabini had provided relief in Aug following heavy rainfall in its Wayanad catchment areas, allowing surplus water to flow into Tamil Nadu for nearly three weeks. However, storage levels have since fallen sharply.Water storage in Karnataka’s four major Cauvery basin reservoirs has now declined to 72.5tmc, or about 63% of their combined capacity of 114.5tmc, compared with 113tmc on the same day last year.On Tuesday, Kabini recorded an inflow of 1,751 cusecs and an outflow of 1,441 cusecs. Hemavathi received 3,414 cusecs and released 9,150 cusecs, while Harangi recorded an inflow of 833 cusecs and an outflow of 1,700 cusecs. Together, the four reservoirs received 8,287 cusecs and released 16,364 cusecs, resulting in a net drawdown in storage.
