All Kaptai Lake spillway gates close

All 16 spillway gates of the Kaptai Dam in Rangamati have been closed after 107 hours and 40 minutes of operation as the water level in Kaptai Lake receded. The gates were shut at 11:00 pm on Wednesday (July 22).

The information was confirmed by Mahmud Hasan, Manager Engineer of the Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Power Station. He said continuous water discharge through the dam's 16 spillway gates over the past four days had lowered the lake's water level, prompting authorities to close all the gates at 11:00 pm on Wednesday.

He added that at 11:00 pm, the water level in Kaptai Lake stood at 103.26 feet MSL (Mean Sea Level). At that time, the power station's five generating units were producing an average of 220 megawatts of electricity.

Earlier, at 11:20 am on Saturday (July 18), all 16 spillway gates had been opened by six inches each after the lake's water level rose to 104.08 feet MSL, approaching the danger level. The move allowed approximately 9,000 cusecs of water per second to flow from Kaptai Lake into the Karnaphuli River.