A water supply scheme, aimed at tripling the access to safe drinking water for Tangalle residents, was commissioned on Friday by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Tangalle Water Supply Scheme is a joint enterprise of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for the provision of a sustainable supply of safe drinking water to tsunami affected families.Constructed in 18 months and costing Rs. 1.07 billion, the project is expected to increase the daily water supply from 2,500 cubic metres to 9,000 cubic metres and greatly contribute to a reduction in the incidence of diarrhoea, hepatitis and other water-related diseases.
“Today, through a tremendous collective effort between Government and UNICEF, we give hope and health to so many women and children who would otherwise trudge great distances to fetch water, and to the children who will no longer suffer from water-related diseases,” UNICEF’s Representative in Sri Lanka, Philippe Duamelle said.
The main components of the new project included the laying of 42 kilometres of pipeline for transmission and distribution, the rehabilitation of existing treatment plants and construction of a new Treatment Plant at Nalagama, the extension of the existing water supply to Nalagama, Palapotha, Beliatta and Hathbodiya areas and construction of four new reservoirs at Palapotha, Hathbodiya, Nalagama, Tangalle town and Beliatta. |
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