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As part of Mahaweli Development programme, the river and its tributaries are dammed at several locations to allow irrigation in the dry zone, with almost 1,000 km 2 (386 sq mi) of land irrigated. [5] The production of hydroelectricity from six dams in the Mahaweli system supplies more than 40% of Sri Lanka's electricity needs.
There are two words meaning "river" in the Sinhala language, namely Ganga (ගඟ) and Oya (ඔය), of which the usage of both terms is arbitrary. At 335 km (208 mi), the Mahaweli River is the longest river on the island, its drainage basin covering more than one-fifth of the island. It is estimated that there are 103 rivers in Sri Lanka. [1]
The Mahaweli Development program (Sinhala: මහවැලි සංවර්ධන වැඩසටහන) is known as the largest multipurpose national development program in the history of Sri Lanka and is also considered the keystone of the government's development program that was initiated in 1961.
The park's elevation range from 20–60 metres (66–197 ft) with sparse rock outcrop. [3] The Mahaweli River flows from south to north through the centre of the park. The rich alluvial soil flood plains situated beside the river are featured by a number of shallow swampy depressions called "villus".
The following page lists most dams in Sri Lanka. Most of these dams are governed by the Mahaweli Authority, while the Ceylon Electricity Board operates dams used for hydroelectric power generation. Hydroelectric dams, including small hydros, account for nearly half of the installed power capacity of Sri Lanka.
Water systems of the park made up 15% of the land area, include five reservoirs; Maduru Oya, Ulhitiya, Ratkinda, NDK, and Henanigala reservoirs and tributaries of the Mahaweli and Maduru Oya rivers. [2] Situated in the dry zone of Sri Lanka, the climatic conditions are dominated by the north-east monsoon, which persists from October to February.
Mahaweli Authority is a state-owned operator in Sri Lanka for managing the Mahaweli River and its projects. It was established in 1979. [2]The primary objective of the Mahaweli Authority is to implement the Mahaweli River development scheme.
The Kotmale River [1] (Sinhala: කොත්මලේ ඔය) is the longest tributary of Mahaweli River. The river begins as the Agra Oya, in the Horton Plains. The Central Plains have an annual rainfall of between 125 and 200 inches a year. The river is approximately 70 km (43 mi) long and drains a basin of about 58,534 ha (226 square miles).