The ponmudi dam is a concrete gravity dam built across the Panniyar river which is a tributary of Periyar River at Konnathadi panchayath of Konnathadi village in Idukki district of Kerala, India. The dam was constructed in 1963 as a part of a hydroelectric project. It has a length of and a length of . The hydropower component of the dam has an installed capacity of 30 MW with firm power of 17 MW, generating 158 GWh annually. Taluks through which the river flow are Udumpanchola,

Devikulam Devikulam () is a Grama Panchayat and small hill station of about from Munnar in the Idukki District of Kerala State, India. It lies above sea level. Etymology The name Devikulam is a conjunction of the words ''Devi'', from the goddess Devi a ...

Kothamangalam Kothamangalam, , is a municipality in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The town is in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and is a part of the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency. The town serves as the headquarters of a taluk and a municipality ...

Muvattupuzha Muvattupuzha () is a town in the midlands directly to the east of Kochi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is located about from downtown Kochi, and is a growing urban centre in central Kerala. The town is also the starting po ...

, Kunnathunadu, Aluva,

Kodungalloor Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Th ...

and Paravur.

Location

The dam, located near

Munnar Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...

on the Panniar River in the Periyar River valley in Kerala, is part of the basin of the West flowing rivers of the Tadri to Kanyakumari. The nearest city is

Udumbanchola Udumbanchola is a taluk in Idukki district of Kerala state in India. This is in the high ranges. Nedumkandam is the major town and capital of Udumbanchola taluk. Mathikettan Shola National Park is located in Udumbanchola. In July 2019, a tea ...

. Mattupetty to Ponmudi Dam is a distance of .

Features

The Ponmudi Dam is a masonry gravity dam of height with a total length of . At the Full Reservoir Level, the gross storage capacity of the reservoir is and live storage is . The dam has a total volumetric content of . The dam is located in Seismic Zone-III. The reservoir water spread area or submergence area is . The spillway is designed for a design discharge of per second. The flood discharge is routed through a spillway which is fitted with three radial gates, each . The stored water is diverted through a tunnel of for power generation creating a head of .

Hydro power development

The water stored in the reservoir is utilized for power generation by diverting the flows through a tunnel followed by two lines of

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

pipes each with a diameter of and a length of . The two penstock pipe lines are designed to carry a discharge of per second. The power station located at Panniyar is provided with installation of 30 MW comprising two units, each of 15 MW capacity Francis turbines. The firm power generation is 17 MW and the annual power generated is 158 GWh. The first unit was commissioned on 29 December 1963 and the second unit on 26 January 1964. The units were renovated in 2001 and 2003.

Major disaster

In a major disaster at the project site, which occurred 17 September 2007, one of the penstock valves burst causing the death of 7 people, destroying 15 houses, and damaging of crops. The reason attributed to the pipe burst is the loosening of the flange bolt connection. The damaged valve was rectified in July 2009.

References

External links

{{Dams in Kerala Dams in Idukki district Dams completed in 1963 1963 establishments in Kerala