The Castlereigh Dam (also spelled Castlereagh) is a

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is ...

built across the

Kehelgamu Oya The Kehelgamu Oya (translated into Kehelgamu River from Sinhala language, Sinhala) is a major upstream tributary of the Kelani River. The tributary measures in length, originating in the hills of the Horton Plains National Park, before passing th ...

, a major tributary to the

Kelani River The Kelani River () is a river in Sri Lanka. The fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Gampaha ...

, approximately south-west of

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire, a village and civil parish * Hatton, Lincolnshire, a village and civil parish * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Houn ...

, in the Central Province of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The dam is a popular location for both locals and tourists.

Reservoir and power station

The dam creates the iconic Castlereigh Reservoir, which is almost entirely maintained by the inflow of water from the Kehalgamu Oya. Water from the reservoir is diverted to the Wimalasurendra Power Station, located approximately downstream at , near Norton Bridge. The power station discharges the water into the Norton Reservoir, created by the

Norton Dam The Norton Dam (also sometimes called the Norton Bridge Dam) is the gravity dam built across the Kehelgamu Oya, which is a main tributary to the Kelani River. The dam is built at Norton Bridge, Sri Lanka, Norton Bridge, in the Central Province (Sr ...

, located at the same site. The power station consists of two 25-

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

units, totalling the plant capacity to . Both units were commissioned in .

Water airport

The Castlereigh Reservoir is also home to the Castlereigh

Water Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such ...

, registered under the

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

code NUF.

References

{{Inland waters of Sri Lanka 1965 establishments in Ceylon Buildings and structures in Nuwara Eliya District Dams completed in 1965 Dams in Sri Lanka Gravity dams Hydroelectric power stations in Sri Lanka

Reservoir and power station

Water airport

See also

References