Chennai: The current water year, which began on June 1, 2024 and concludes at May-end this year, is ending on a high note for Tamil Nadu . The lower riparian state received 300tmcft of Cauvery water at the inter-state border on Monday, exceeding Supreme Court-mandated release of 177.25tmcft.Rainfall over the past few days led to notable increase in water level at Stanley Reservoir in Mettur.This year’s realisation contrasts sharply with that in 2023-24 when Tamil Nadu received only 81tmcft due to poor rainfall. Prior to that, for five years, the state recorded excess realisation. “The excess ranged from 211tmcft to 668tmcft in the previous five years. Currently, the storage at Mettur stands at 78tmcft. There is a good inflow of 12,800 cusecs. The state govt is gearing up to release water on June 12, the customary date for irrigation,” said an official.The WRD official was optimistic that if ain persisted in the catchment areas, the water level could reach its full capacity of 120 feet within a couple of weeks. Currently, water at 1,000 cusecs is being released for drinking purposes. The rate of water flow at Hogenakkal in Dharmapuri district rose on Monday night, from 8,000 cusecs to 14,000 cusecs, and this level was sustained the following morning.Water storage across the state, however, remains a concern as only 146 tanks out of 14,141 tanks are brimming, and 1,335 tanks are bone dry, especially those in Madurai, Sivaganga, Thanjavur, and Tirunelveli districts. The IMD forecast of above-normal rainfall from the southwest monsoon has raised expectations for improved water resources in the coming months.Ninety reservoirs of various capacities under the control of the water resources department have a combined storage of only 56% against the original capacity of 224.29tmcft. Mullaperiyar reservoir, which meets the requirements of the five southern districts, including Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga, and Ramanathapuram, has only 1.6tmcft against a 10.57tmcft capacity. In the PAP group of dams, Parambikulam has only 4.6tmcft against 13.4tmcft, while Aliyar has 1tmcft against 3.8tmcft.