Water level in the Bhavanisagar Dam dropped below 60 feet against its full reservoir level of 105 ft. on Wednesday (May 13, 2026).

The water level stood at 59.83 ft. at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, while the storage was 7.20 tmc ft. against the dam’s full capacity of 32.8 tmc ft. The inflow was 204 cusecs, while the discharge was 350 cusecs into the Arakkankottai and Thadapalli channels and 150 cusecs into River Bhavani for drinking water supply.

A Water Resources Department official said the inflow had remained very low over the last three months, while the outflow was high for irrigation, leading to a steady drop in the water level. The catchment areas did not receive good rainfall over the last week, and the inflow remained low, the official added.

The dam serves as a lifeline for irrigation in the Erode, Karur, and Tiruppur districts, irrigating about 2.07 lakh acres. It also supplies water to the Kalingarayan Channel, covering 15,743 acres, and the Thadapalli and Arakkankottai channels, which irrigate 24,504 acres.

Farmers pointed to the illegal extraction of water from the dam and channels and sought strict action.