Odisha govt may bring necessary changes in rule curve of Hirakud dam

Given the changing circumstances and drastic variations in the water inflow and demand from the Hirakud reservoir, the Odisha government is all set to bring some necessary changes in the dam’s rule curve to adapt it to the present-time need. 

As per reports, the Water Resource Department has already started the process in this regard. A committee has been formed led by the Planning and Design Engineer-in-Chief of the department Lingaraj Gouda.

The committee will evaluate the existing rule curve and suggest necessary changes required in view of the conflicts in dam operation due to demands for water for various purposes and the effects of climate change.

The rule curves are generally derived by operation studies using historic or generated flows. Many times, due to various conditions like low inflow and meeting minimum requirements for demands, it is not possible to stick to the rule concerning storage levels.

As per sources, deliberation is underway for the desilting of the dam which is reducing the water storage capacity of the dam.

“Hirakud is a huge dam and it has multi-purpose planning like irrigation, flood control and power generation. We do the inflow forecast of the dam as per the rain forecast. However, rain forecasting is not always accurate. Hence we face problems in water management. We don’t have any more dams in the lower catchment area and as a result, we don’t have any control over flood control after releasing water from Hirakud,” said Planning and Design Engineer-in-Chief Lingaraj Gouda.

“Rule curve was prepared after the construction of the dam and it was once revised after 1972. It gives us a general guideline to keep how much water in the dam during heavy flow. But we can have certain exceptions to it. The new government has formed four committees including the rule curve and Mahanadi system rejuvenation committee. The committee will review the rule curve and bring necessary changes to it,” he added.