Mr Bidarimath said that, an inflow of about 4 lakh cusecs of water into the dam was expected this year due to heavy rains. The water level in the dam would rise to the 516 metre mark, which would submerge many villages, he observed. He pointed out that when the water level in the dam was at the 514 meter mark in 1997-98 , as many as villages had been submerged.