Misinformation spreads water drained from large dams

Misinformation is circu­lating that large dams were drained during the flash flood period, but this is not true. An experienced engineer has stat­ed that spreading such misinfor­mation can cause public panic and should be avoided.

 

Large dams cannot be drained or broken down. Wa­ter flows into the dam, and any surplus is released through the spillway. If the water from these dams were drained, as some claim, millions of acre-feet of land would be flooded, and those areas would be washed away, he explained.

 

Dams are designed to mit­igate flooding. When large vol­umes of water flow into the dam due to heavy rains, they hold back millions of gallons of water, preventing it from immediately reaching nearby residential ar­eas and buildings along rivers and creeks.

 

Dams are built with spill­ways to release surplus water into creeks or rivers after their capacity is calculated using en­gineering technology.

 

At a time when it rains heavily, the volume of water which exceeds the capacity of storage at the dam flows out from the spillways. Moreover, the construction of dams aims to generate electricity, irrigate croplands, supply drinking wa­ter to the people, and mitigate flooding.

 

If dams do not control water, people may face unprecedented suffering more than the current incident, said the experienced engineer.

 

Officials control water in the dams systematically while repairing water control gears and draining out agricultural water for croplands.

 

On 12 September, the water level at the Mezali Diversion Weir reached 206.6 feet and continued to rise gradually. Because of the opening of its valve shutters, the measuring marks at the diversion weir did not change. An official from the facility stated on social media that real-time updates on the dam’s measuring marks will be provided. — Htun Htun/TTA