page_title: Mullaperiyar Dam
section_title: Dam safety
hierarchical_section_title: Mullaperiyar Dam / Dam safety
caption_attribution_description: English: Damage Dam
context_page_description: Mullaperiyaru Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala It is located 881 m above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India. It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area. It has a height of 53.6 m from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m. The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam's reservoir. The dam is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers. The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and maintained by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Although the Periyar River has a total catchment area of 5398 km² with 114 km² downstream from the dam in Tamil Nadu, the catchment area of the Mullaperiyar Dam itself lies entirely in Kerala and thus not an inter-State river. However, by the principle of estoppel it is considered otherwise. On 21 November 2014, the water level hit 142 feet for first time in 35 years.
context_section_description: After the 1979 Morvi Dam failure which killed up to 15,000 people, safety concerns of the aging Mullaperiyar dam's and alleged leaks and cracks in the structure were raised by the Kerala Government. A study conducted by The Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram, had reported that the structure would not withstand an earthquake above magnitude 6 on the Richter scale. The dam was also inspected by the Chairman, CWC (Central Water Commission). On the orders of the CWC, the Tamil Nadu government lowered the storage level from 152 feet to 142.2 feet then to 136 feet, conducted safety repairs and strengthened the dam.
  Strengthening measures adopted by Tamil Nadu PWD from 1979 onwards include cable anchoring of the dam's structure and RCC backing for the front slope. During a recent scanning of the Mullaperiyar dam using a remotely operated vehicle by the Central Soil and Materials Research Station on directions from the Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, the Kerala Government observer opined that "mistakes in the strengthening works carried out by Tamil Nadu" in 1979 damaged the masonry of the dam.
  Current safety concerns relate to several issues. Since the dam was constructed using stone rubble masonry with lime mortar grouting following prevailing 19th-century construction techniques that have now become archaic, seepage and leaks from the dam have caused concern. Moreover, the dam is situated in a seismically active zone. An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred on 7 June 1988 with maximum damage in Nedumkandam and Kallar (within 20 km of the dam). Subsequently, several tremors have occurred in the area in recent times. These could be reservoir-induced seismicity, requiring further studies according to experts.  A 2009 report by IIT Roorkee stated that the dam "was likely to face damage if an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale struck its vicinity when the water level is at 136 feet".
caption: Damage in dam
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