Water level reaches 2396.34 feet in Idukki dam

Idukki, Aug 4: The water level in Kerala's Idukki dam touched 2396.34 feet on Saturday due to continuous heavy rainfall. The Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of the dam is 2403 feet.

Idukki Dam is 554 feet (168.91 meters) tall, constructed between the two mountains - Kuravanmala (839 meters) and Kuravathimala (925 meters ). Length of the dam on its top is 365.85 meters. It has a width of 7.62 meters in the top and 19.81 meters in the bottom.

About 4,64,000 cubic meters of concrete was used in the construction of the dam. This project is situated in Idukki District and its underground power house is located at Moolamattom which is about 43 km from the dam.

The water level rises

The water level rises at the Idukki dam in Kerala on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The dam may be opened for the first time in 26 years, owing to rising water level of the Periayar River following heavy monsoon rains in Kerala.

NDRF on standby

A team of National Disaster Response Force has already been deployed in Ernakulam and Thrissur and another team wouldreach Idukki, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

Electricity in KSEB

The Kerala state electricity board (KSEB) is determined to make maximum use of the water in the catchment area in Idukki dam. The KSEB officials said that there has not been any excess water in the dam that needs to be released. Electricity Minister M.M. Mani has said that a trial run will be held when the water level in the Idukki dam reaches 2,398 ft.

Emergency water release

This puts to rest the speculation of any immediate trial run as the water level rise has slowed down and so has the rainfall. However, with the state government and the chief minister plan to conduct a trial run to understand the situation in the event of an emergency water release if there is any spurt in rainfall.