Kathmandu. Although it has been raining since Saturday morning in the catchment area of Kulekhani hydropower project, which has the largest reservoir in the country, the Kulekhani reservoir is not in a condition to be filled. Prahlad Raut, the head of Kulekhani Hydropower Project I, said that Kulekhani Reservoir is not full due to normal rainfall in the catchment area. “If Kulekhani gets full, we will open the dam only with advance notice,” he said.
Till 8 am on Saturday, 1,527.5 cm of water has been collected in Kulekhani Reservoir. At 6 am on Saturday, the water level in the reservoir was 1,527.42 cm. 8 cm of water is added to the reservoir in two hours. “There has been a little more rain in the catchment area on Saturday morning than on Friday,” said Raut, head of Kulekhani I, “It has not rained as heavily as in October in the catchment area.”
1,530 meters of water can be collected in Kulekhani Reservoir. If necessary, 50 cm more water can be collected by placing sandbags in the dam’s embankment, said a technician of the Kulekhani hydropower project. The Indrasarovar reservoir of the Kulekhani hydropower project, which is the ‘backup’ of the Nepal Electricity Authority, is still 2 and a half meters away from being filled. An officer of Kulekhani hydropower project said, “There is no immediate situation of filling the reservoir, the water level in the watershed area is decreasing.”
The area of seven watershed areas of Kulekhani Reservoir is 166 square kilometers. All the three units of the Kulekhani hydropower project have been operated 24 hours a day for the purpose of consuming water from the reservoir. When all the three units operate 24 hours, about 40 to 50 cm of water is consumed. Kulekhani first produces 60 MW of electricity, second produces 32 MW and third produces 106 MW of 14 MW.
According to the Nepal Electricity Authority, electricity is being produced without collecting water to minimize the potential risk due to continuous rain in the Kulekhani watershed area. The Kulekhani hydropower project has arranged for sirens to warn that the dam may need to be opened before the reservoir is full.
Sirens have been installed in areas such as Sisneri and the lower coastal part of Kulekhani Reservoir. According to the Kulekhani hydropower project, the first siren has been set to sound after the water level reaches 1,529 meters in the Kulekhani reservoir dam. 1,530 meters of water can be collected in Kulekhani Reservoir. When it exceeds that, the gate of the dam should be opened.