Randenigala Dam

Coordinates: 07°12′00″N 80°55′30″E / 7.20000°N 80.92500°E / 7.20000; 80.92500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Randenigala Dam
රන්දෙනිගල වේල්ල
GWh
http://www.mahawelicomplex.lk/randdam.htm

The Randenigala Dam (

J. R. Jayawardene in 1986.[2]

Construction of the dam cost approximately

Rs. 4.898 billion (1986), of which 24.6% (Rs. 1.207 billion) was funded by the local government, and the majority of the remainder by Germany.[2]

Dam

The three large spillways of the dam.

The Randenigala Dam is located 19 km (11.8 mi) downstream of the Victoria Dam, and 2.8 km (1.7 mi) upstream of the Rantembe Dam. Randenigala measures 94 m (308 ft) in height, 485 m (1,591 ft) in length, with a crest and base width of 10 m (33 ft) and 303 m (994 ft) respectively. The embankment dam is made mostly of rocks, and consists of a clay core.[1]

Three large controlled tainter gate chute spillways, with a combined discharge volume of 8,100 m3/s (290,000 cu ft/s), are constructed at the southern end of the dam. The three spillways measure 270 m (886 ft) in length, with a combined width of 48 m (157 ft).[1]

Reservoir

The reservoir, as seen from 13km away in Harasbedda.

The dam creates the Randenigala Reservoir. With a catchment area of 2,330 km (1,450 mi) and a total storage capacity of 861,000,000 m3 (3.04×1010 cu ft), Randenigala is one of the largest reservoirs in the country.[1]

The reservoir experiences approximately 1,250–3,000 mm (49.21–118.11 in) of rainfall annually. In addition to this, the reservoir is also topped up with water from the Victoria Reservoir upstream, and the Mahaweli River.[1]

Power station

The power station of the Randenigala Dam.

The power station is located immediately downstream of the dam, on the left bank. Water from the reservoir is delivered to the power station via a single steel-lined tunnel with a length and diameter of 270 m (886 ft) and 6.2 m (20.3 ft) respectively.[1]

The plant consists of two generators with a rated capacity of 63

GWh annually.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Randenigala Dam and Reservoir". Mahaweli Authority. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Sri Lanka's biggest river basin development project". The Sunday Times. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

External links