Kaptai Dam's 16 spillways closed after 4 days and 11 hours

After the water level of Kaptai Lake increased due to continuous rainfall and hilly terrain, the 16 spillways of Kaptai Dam have been closed after a long 4 days and 11 hours and 40 minutes.

Karnaphuli Hydropower Plant Manager Engineer Mahmud Hasan confirmed that all the spillways of Kaptai Dam were closed at 11 pm on Wednesday (July 22).

Earlier, due to flood situation in the upstream area of ​​the lake, 16 spillways of Kaptai Dam were opened by 6 inches on Saturday (July 18) at 11:20 am to reduce the water pressure, through which 9,000 cusecs of water was being released per second. Currently, the water level of the lake has come down within safe limits due to the reduction in water flow from upstream and the decrease in rainfall.

Power generation and current water level

According to the Karnaphuli Hydropower Plant Authority, the maximum capacity of Kaptai Lake is 109 feet MSL (mean sea level) and the danger level is 108.50 feet MSL. On Wednesday morning, the water level of the lake was 103.31 feet MSL.

Currently, about 32,000 cusecs of water are being discharged per second through the five units of the power plant that are operational, and through this, 222 megawatts of electricity are being supplied to the national grid every day.

Managing Engineer Mahmud Hasan said that the water level of the lake is being monitored round the clock. If the water level increases again due to heavy rains later, the authorities will review the situation and take necessary measures.