With the volume of upstream floodwater flowing into the Mahanadi basin steadily decreasing, authorities have significantly scaled down water discharge operations at the Hirakud Dam.
Out of the 15 sluice gates that were previously operational, 13 have been closed in a phased manner on Thursday morning. As a result, surplus floodwater is currently being released into the Mahanadi River through only 2 remaining sluice gates.
According to data released by the dam control room, the water level of the reservoir stood at 629.65 feet by 9:30 AM on Thursday. During this period, the reservoir was receiving an average inflow of 1,77,597 cubic feet of water per second (cusecs), while a total of 66,003 cusecs of water was being discharged through various channels.
Out of the total discharge, 32,822 cusecs of water is being drained out through 2 active sluice gates—one each on the left and right spillway channels. Additionally, water is being supplied for various other purposes, including 28,282 cusecs through the power channel, 3,661 cusecs via the Bargarh canal, 500 cusecs through the Sasan canal, 105 cusecs into the Sambalpur canal, and 221 cusecs allocated for industrial use.
