Three spill gates at the Upper Kotmale Reservoir opened automatically in the early hours of Monday (3) after sustained heavy rainfall over the reservoir’s catchment area, engineers in charge of the reservoir said.
The engineers said the reservoir’s remaining spill gates could also open automatically if rain continues to fall across the catchment.
The Disaster Management Centre has advised people living along both banks of the Kotmale Oya, downstream of the reservoir dam, to remain alert and take precautions for their safety.
Ada Derana reported that the flow at St. Clair’s Falls and Devon Falls has also increased significantly as a result of the heavy rain over the region.
Upstream of a river already under warning
The Upper Kotmale Reservoir sits on the Kotmale Oya in the Nuwara Eliya district, in the central hills. The Kotmale Oya is a tributary of the Mahaweli, which means water released at Upper Kotmale flows down into a river system that is already under an active flood warning.
The Irrigation Department issued a 24-hour flood warning at 12.30 a.m. on Monday for low-lying land along the Mahaweli in six Divisional Secretariat divisions of the Kandy district, valid until 12.30 a.m. on Tuesday. On Sunday, two spill gates at the Polgolla dam were opened two feet each, releasing 3,940 cubic feet of water per second into the Victoria Reservoir.
More rain forecast
The Met Department’s Monday forecast expects rainfall above 100 mm at some places in the Sabaragamuwa province and the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts — the same upland belt that feeds the Upper Kotmale catchment.
Nuwara Eliya is also among the four districts where the National Building Research Organisation has issued landslide early warnings, valid until 11 p.m. on Monday, and principals in the Hatton and Nuwara Eliya education zones have been given discretion to close schools for the day.
