The Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka announced today, September 24, 2026, that the Polgolla Reservoir will undergo scheduled emptying from midnight tomorrow, September 25, through September 27 to facilitate structural repairs on its main hydraulic spillway gates.

With upper catchment monsoon inflows pushing Polgolla storage to 90% capacity and Victoria Dam reaching 70%, engineers are executing controlled releases into downstream hydro-generation channels. Water supply authorities in Polgolla, Kundasale, and Balagolla have advised residential and commercial consumers to store adequate drinking water during the 60-hour maintenance window, as alternative pumping intakes are activated to maintain base municipal pressure.