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Bowatenna Dam

The 928th tallest dam in the world

m

The Bowatenna Dam is a 100 ft (30 m) high gravity dam at Bowatenna, in Central Province of Sri Lanka. The dam was built in June 1981, and is used primarily for irrigation. A 40 MW power station is also constructed 5,800 ft (1,800 m) downstream, for hydroelectric power generation.

The dam creates the iconic Bowatenna Reservoir, measuring approximately 11,800 ft (3,600 m) and 10,500 ft (3,200 m) at its widest and longest latitude and longitude, respectively. The reservoir has an active capacity of 21,000 acreft (26,000,000 m3) and a maximum surface elevation of 800 ft (240 m). The dam consists of six spillways, measuring a combined width of 222 ft (68 m), or 16 ft (5 m) each. The spillways combined has a maximum discharge capacity of 125,000 cu ft/s (3,500 m3/s). After the completion of the Moragahakanda Dam, a percentage of water from the Bowatenna Reservoir would also be transferred to the new Moragahakanda Reservoir, to be located approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) away, via tunnel.

The power station, located 5,800 ft (1,800 m) downstream, consists of a single Fuji 40 MW unit. The power station was commissioned in June 1981.

Electricity in Sri Lanka List of dams and reservoirs in Sri Lanka List of power stations in Sri Lanka

Dam data from Wikidata (CC0) plus curated additions. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

More dams in Sri Lanka

  1. Moragahakanda Dam185 m
  2. Kantale Dam m
  3. Kotmale Dam m
  4. Kukule Ganga Dam m
  5. Maskeliya Dam m

Other tall dams worldwide

  1. Rogun Dam · Tajikistan335 m
  2. Shuangjiangkou Dam · China312 m
  3. Norak Dam · Tajikistan300 m
  4. Grande Dixence dam · Switzerland285 m
  5. Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam · Russia245 m
  6. Oroville Dam · United States234.7 m
  7. Bhakra Dam · India225.6 m
  8. Hoover Dam · United States221 m