Srisailam dam, NSP let off 858 TMC and 550 TMC as flood discharges
For the last 50 days, Krisna river has been witnessing extensive floods, quickly filling NSP to its maximum capacity (312 TMC) within a week after the Srisailam Dam reached its FRL with a gross capacity of 215 TMC
Hyderabad: After enduring a year of drought and water scarcity, Krishna river is now experiencing the problem of plenty.
For the last 50 days, the river has been witnessing extensive floods, quickly filling the Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) to its maximum capacity (312 TMC) within a week after the Srisailam Dam reached its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) with a gross capacity of 215 TMC.
The Srisailam Dam has received a total of 1,139 TMC of water, with 858 TMC being discharged in four spells by lifting its gates.
Since July 30, the dam’s gates have been open, and over the last 42 days, the average discharge from the Srisailam project has been 1.5 lakh cusecs, with peak flows nearing five lakh cusecs.
This has allowed the project to release approximately 37 lakh cusecs to the hydel stations of Telangana, facilitating the generation of up to 18 million units of electricity daily.
Over 155 TMC of water has been channelled to the powerhouse channels. Since July 16, around 37,000 cusecs of water have been directed to the powerhouse, enabling power generation from five of its six hydel units, which have a combined installed capacity of 900 MW.
Regarding discharges from the Nagarjuna Sagar Project, approximately 550 TMC of water has been released from the project and its two main canals, each with a carrying capacity of 11,000 cusecs.
After a hiatus of more than one and a half years, the Nagarjuna Sagar Project began receiving flood inflows from August 1.
This sudden influx of water has brought relief and opportunities for power generation, but it has posed challenges for managing the excess water downstream and ensuring the safety of the surrounding areas.
The NSP left canal is yet to get water released to its full capacity in view of operational issues that make the canal system vulnerable after a dry year resulting in crop holiday. The canal system is being strengthened by plugging the breaches reported at three places due to flash floods in the command area.
