This object is man-made. It’s part of the dam. If the water level in the reservoir gets too high, the excess volume usually starts to flow into this huge trough that rises above the water surface.

What will happen if you fall in

The drain was built in the 1950s to control the flow of water instead of the traditional side drain. In the narrow gap of the rocks, called the Devil’s Gate, where the dam is located, the side spillway is nowhere to be found. That’s why the engineers focused on a drain version similar to that seen in a regular bathroom. The structure is a huge pipe with an outlet outside the dam – these are used to drain excess water not only here but elsewhere in the world. However, this object is very popular with the audience for some reason. In the rainy season, spectators come to see it and take pictures.

• In 2017, rich in precipitation, hundreds of spectators gathered on the observation deck to see a hole in the middle of the water.
• In 2019, after another heavy rainy season, the show was repeated and attracted thousands of people.
• That same year, the dam hit American news as a cormorant was sucked into the pipe. Some media reported that he survived.

Record of the moment when a cormorant fell into a hole: video

This should not happen to a person. First of all, due to the fact that the reservoir is fenced and protected. Swimming or swimming in the boat is prohibited. In addition, people can easily overcome the force of the gutter even during the high water season. The only human death here occurred in 1997, when a woman managed to swim to the structure and held it aside for about 20 minutes, but failed before rescue service arrived.

The hole may look scary, but dam workers say the water velocity isn’t that high. A drain that is 22 meters wide and 75 meters deep can absorb approximately 1360 cubic meters of water per second. After entering the hole, the water ends up in a narrow pipe leading to the Puta stream.

See what the drainage in Berries Lake looks like: video