Monsoon helps increase inflow to TN dams

AFTER a gap of five months, the state's reservoirs are finally receiving ample inflow of water, thanks to the southwest monsoon.

- S GURUVANMIKANATHAN

As of July 18 (Thursday), the combined water storage in all the reservoirs stands at 78.291 tmcft, which is 34.90% of the total capacity of 224.297 tmcft.

In February this year, the total water storage in the state's 90 reservoirs was 101 tmcft (45.22%) of the total capacity. However, during peak summer, the water storage had been on the decline.

While it dropped to 61.860 tmcft (27%) by April 6, it further plunged to 51.973 %, which is just 23.7 % of the capacity on June 1, leading to concerns that the state may face water shortage if the southwest monsoon fails to deliver.

Despite the increase in the storage, the present storage is less than the 87.604 tmcft (39.05%) the state had on July 18 last year.