Water to be released from Sathanur dam in Tiruvannamalai for irrigation

Water will be released from the Sathanur dam in Tiruvannamalai to irrigate 45,000 acres of farmlands downstream, starting Monday.

Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) said that water released into the river will be distributed to Left and Right Bank Canals from the pick-up dam up to May 17. The water is expected to irrigate 45,000 acres of agricultural land in Tiruvannamalai.

Minister for PWD, Highways, and Minor Ports E.V. Velu will open the sluice gates of the dam that is located 8 km away from the reservoir downstream in the presence of Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian.

Every day, around 520 cusecs of water will be released from the dam for farming. “Cultivators should utilise the water judiciously as water is required for drinking purposes of the villages in the district,” Collector Mr. Pandian said. The dam has a total storage capacity of 7,321 mcft of water.

As requested by farmers, water will be released in three phases before April 30, from Anaicut in Tirukoilur taluk of neighbouring Kallakurichi district to irrigate around 5,000 acres of farmland.

According to PWD officials, this is the first time that the dam reached its full storage capacity of 119 ft, since its inception in 1958. This was made possible after the old sluice gates were replaced with new ones in a massive restoration project of that dam in June 2022. Earlier, water was stored only up to 99 ft., considering the safety of the structure, especially its rusted sluice gates. 

Every year, 4 tmc ft of water is stored in the dam for irrigation. The dam also helps to store water in 88 tanks along the route across districts. While water from the dam’s Left Bank Canal feeds 30 tanks in Tiruvannamalai and 10 in Villupuram, the Right Bank Canal is connected to 48 tanks in Villupuram.

The dam also provides at least 2 tmc ft water for domestic consumption of residents in at least 150 villages and major towns such as Chengam and Tiruvannamalai, without reducing its deck storage level of 56 ft.