Kaptai Dam opens 16 gates two hours early as water level rises

Authorities opened all 16 spillway gates of the Kaptai Dam two hours ahead of schedule yesterday (29 August) as the water level in Kaptai Lake rose rapidly.

The gates were opened by 6 inches each at around 8pm, instead of the scheduled 10pm, allowing around 9,000 cusecs of water to flow into the Karnaphuli River through the spillway.

Mahmud Hasan, manager-engineer of the Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Power Station, confirmed the development.

He said the authorities decided to open the gates ahead of schedule as the lake’s water level was rising rapidly.

At the time the gates were opened, the water level in Kaptai Lake stood at 105.98 feet mean sea level (MSL), against its maximum capacity of 109 feet MSL.

The water level was 105.64 feet MSL at 2pm on Saturday.

An emergency notice issued earlier by the authorities said the 16 gates would be opened by 6 inches each from 10pm, taking into account the lake’s water level, upstream inflow and rainfall situation.

However, the timing was brought forward as the water level began rising rapidly after the afternoon.

Meanwhile, all five units of the Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Station are operational. Around 32,000 cusecs of water are flowing into the Karnaphuli River through power generation from the units.

With an additional 9,000 cusecs released through the spillway gates, a total of around 41,000 cusecs of water is currently flowing into the river through the two routes.

This is the second time this monsoon that the Kaptai Dam gates have been opened to release water.

Earlier, all 16 gates were opened on 18 July. They were closed on 23 July after the water level fell.