Kelani River
| Kelani River | |
|---|---|
Kelani River, near Kitulgala
|
|
| Native name | Kelani Ganga |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Basin features | |
| Main source | Horton Plains National Park |
| River mouth |
Colombo, Indian Ocean 0 m (0 ft) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 145 km (90 mi) |
| Discharge |
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The Kelani River (Sinhalese: කැළණි ගඟ) is a 145-kilometre-long (90 mi) river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or bordering the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Gampaha and Colombo.
Kelani River has two main tributaries in its upper reaches. These are; (1) Kehelgamu Oya and (2) Maskeli Oya. These two contribute to part of hydro-electric production in Sri Lanka, by housing several major reservoirs, ponds and power stations. Castlereigh Reservoir and Norton Reservoir are constructed across Kehelgamu Oya, while Maskeliya Reservoir, Canyon Reservoir and Laxapana Reservoir are constructed across Maskeli Oya. In its lower reaches, some more tributaries connect to Kelani River out of which the most famous are We Oya at Yatiyanthota, Gurugoda Oya at Ruwanwella and Seethawaka Ganga at Avissawella.
It supplies approximately 80% of the water used in Colombo. In addition, the river is used for transport, fisheries, sewage disposal, sand mining and for production of hydroelectricity. Through these factors, many people depend on the river for their daily routine in life. Depending on the operation of three reservoirs, the river flow varies from 20 m3/s (706 cu ft/s) to 25 m3/s (883 cu ft/s) in the dry seasons, and 800 m3/s (28,252 cu ft/s) to 1,500 m3/s (52,972 cu ft/s) during the monsoons. The annual sand extraction from the river is approximately 600,000 m2 (6,458,346 sq ft) to 800,000 m2 (8,611,128 sq ft). From a barge, people dive to the river bed, from where the sand is lifted to the barge in a bucket, and when the barge is full, it is taken to the river bank and unloaded by a separate team. The sand mining causes the river bed to sink by approximately 10 cm (4 in) per year. At present, two main concerns in connection with the river are flooding during the monsoon and saline intrusion in the dry season.
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Wikipedia