The Department of Irrigation officially commissioned five automated telemetric hydraulic floodgate installations along the lower Kelani River basin across Biyagama and Kelaniya in Gampaha today, October 2, 2026, significantly strengthening urban flood defenses ahead of the second inter-monsoon season.

Historically, heavy catchment rainfall across the central hills frequently caused rapid surges in the Kelani River, creating backwater flooding that inundated low-lying residential neighborhoods and disrupted export manufacturing operations within the Biyagama Export Processing Zone. The newly installed floodgates feature automated high-torque electric actuators, ultrasonic water level sensors, and automated backflow flap valves that prevent swollen river currents from entering tributary drainage canals.

Operating on an integrated telemetric control network linked directly to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and the Hydrology Division in Colombo, the gates automatically adjust their opening heights in response to real-time upstream river volume measurements. High-capacity diesel storm water drainage pumps with a combined discharge capacity of 12 cubic meters per second have been installed adjacent to the gates to evacuate localized storm runoff into the main river channel even during high river stages.

Irrigation engineers affirmed that the automated installations provide 24-hour flood protection for over 65,000 residents and dozens of industrial facilities across the Kelaniya, Peliyagoda, and Biyagama electorates. Local municipal authorities praised the modernization, highlighting that automated gate operations eliminate previous human delays in manual sandbagging and sluice closure, drastically mitigating urban flood damages.