Kotmale Reservoir

Kotmale Reservoir (or Gamini Dissanayaka Reservoir) is a hydroelectric and irrigation reservoir located in Kotmale, Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka.

History

Kotmale project is one of five major projects that was undertaken under the Mahaweli Development Scheme (Manatunge & Takesada, 2013). It is also the uppermost reservoir in the reservoir network constructed under that scheme (Abeysinghe, 2005). 

The plan for the construction of Kotmale Dam was initially proposed in 1961, for the purpose of hydroelectric power generation and irrigation water supply (Takesada et al., 2008). The construction work of the dam was started on 2 February 1979 and the water filling of the reservoir was commenced on 17 November 1984. The reservoir flooded nearly a 4000 ha land in the Mahaweli upper catchment and about 3056 families were resettled due to inundation (Manatunge & Takesada, 2013). The dam was commissioned in 1985 (Takesada et al., 2008). The total project was financially assisted by the Government of Sweden (Manatunge & Takesada, 2013).

On 11 April 2003, the reservoir was named as Gamini Dissanayaka Reservoir.

Reservoir

The reservoir has been created by making a rock-fill dam between Kadadora and Thispane mountains. The dam is 600 m long and 87 m tall. Three main tributaries feed the reservoir: Pundalu Oya, Puna Oya, and Kotmale Oya (Abeysinghe, 2005). The reservoir generates 201-megawatt power (by three 67 MW turbines) at its hydroelectric power station located at Atabage (Abeyawardana, 2004; Takesada et al., 2008).

An information center has been established near the reservoir for the benefit of visitors to the site.

General & morphometric characteristics Catchment area : 563 sq. km Inflowing rivers (major) : Pundalu Oya, Puna Oya and Kotmale Oya Outflowing river : Mahaweli Ganga Surface area : 6.5 sq. km Maximum length : 6.8 km Maximum breadth : 1.41 km Maximum depth : 90 m Mean depth : 26.8 m Shore line : 45 km

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References

1) Abeysinghe, K.G.A.M.C.S., Nandalal, L.K. and Piyasiri, S., 2005. Prediction of thermal stratification of the Kotmale reservoir using a hydrodynamic model. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, 33(1). pp.25-36.
2) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.243.
3) Manatunge, J. and Takesada, N., 2013. Long-term perceptions of project-affected persons: A case study of the Kotmale Dam in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 29(1), pp.87-100.
4) Takesada, N., Manatunge, J. and Herath, I.L., 2008. Resettler choices and long‐term consequences of involuntary resettlement caused by construction of Kotmale Dam in Sri Lanka. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research & Management, 13(3), pp.245-254.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 21 April 2022
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