The water level in Kaptai Lake has crossed 107 mean sea level (MSL), prompting the Karnafuli Hydropower Station to decide on opening 16 spillway gates, each by 6 inches. The gates will be opened at 10 am tomorrow, Tuesday (August 5).

Once opened, the gates will release 9,000 cusecs of water per second into the Karnafuli River, which will eventually flow through the Karnafuli basin and drain into the Bay of Bengal.

In addition to the spillway release, the hydropower station’s five operational units are currently discharging around 32,000 cusecs of water into the river as part of power generation.

Speaking to Bonik Barta at noon on Monday (August 4), Mahmud Hasan, Superintendent Engineer and Manager of the Karnafuli Hydropower Station, said the initial plan was to open the gates on Monday afternoon due to the rising water level. However, the decision was later revised, and the gates will now open at 10 am on Tuesday.

Earlier, on Sunday night (August 3), the station had issued an emergency notice stating that the lake’s water level was approaching the danger mark. At that time, they had planned to begin releasing water through the 16 gates at 3 pm Monday.

Officials said water flow and rainfall in the lake area are being closely monitored. If the water level increases unexpectedly, more gates may be opened in phases.