Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, opened the sluice gates of the Mettur Dam, releasing Cauvery water for irrigation in the delta districts.
The opening has brought relief and renewed hope to thousands of farmers who depend on Cauvery water for cultivation. This year, the release comes nearly 80 days after the customary June 12 opening date, as inadequate rainfall and low storage had prevented the government from releasing water at the beginning of the traditional irrigation season.
The government has planned to release water for 45 days, subject to the availability of water, inflow into the reservoir and irrigation requirements.
But the opening of Mettur is much more than the opening of a dam.
For generations of farmers across Tamil Nadu's Cauvery basin, the water released from Mettur has determined when fields are prepared, when paddy is transplanted and, in difficult years, whether a crop can be cultivated at all.
A Dam That Changed Tamil Nadu Agriculture
The Mettur Dam, officially associated with the Stanley Reservoir, stands across the Cauvery River at Mettur in Salem district.
The idea of regulating Cauvery water for irrigation had been discussed for decades before construction finally began in 1925.
After nearly nine years of construction, the massive project was completed in 1934. Historical records show that the reservoir was formally inaugurated on August 21, 1934, when Sir George Stanley, then Governor of Madras, operated the system that released water from the newly completed reservoir.
At the time of its construction, Mettur was regarded as one of the major engineering achievements of its era.
The dam extends approximately 5,300 feet — around 1.6 kilometres — across the Cauvery.
Its usable full reservoir level is 120 feet, while its effective storage capacity is approximately 93.47 TMC ft.
The reservoir created behind the dam came to be known as the Stanley Reservoir.
Why Was Mettur Dam Built?
The fundamental purpose behind the Mettur project was simple but enormously important: store Cauvery water when it is available and release it systematically when farmers need it.
Before large reservoirs and regulated irrigation systems, agriculture downstream depended much more directly on the seasonal flow of rivers.
A good monsoon could produce abundant crops.
A weak monsoon could leave farmers facing severe water shortages.
Mettur provided Tamil Nadu with the ability to store a substantial quantity of Cauvery water and regulate its release for agriculture.
