News
No rain may mean household taps may run dry
(L) A man carries water up stairs during a water cut (R) Water levels in reservoirs are dropping. Pix by M A Pushpa Kumara
A dry spell has taken hold of multiple localities in Sri Lanka owing to below-average rainfall in the past few months, and water shortages in reservoirs are having an impact on the drinking water supply.
Water levels in tanks have dropped 28.7% in contrast with the long-term average of the past decade, and below the minimum operating level.
The Irrigation Department has 73 major tanks under it. Many tanks in Ampara (21%), Puttalam (12%), and Mannar (15%), have run dry, Irrigation Department Director Sudarshani Widanapathirana disclosed.
According to a report from the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), 183,038 people and 54,979 families across 10 districts do not have safe drinking water. Jaffna, Ampara, and Batticaloa are the hardest hit.
Nilantha Danapala, Director-General (Technical Services) of the Mahaweli Authority and Director of the Water Management Secretariat, said recent water releases for agricultural needs have no bearing on power generation.
“The water level has gone down in Samanala Wewa by 425 metres. Frequency balancing in terms of disturbing water has met certain challenges in view of low rainfall. Despite the difficulties, the Mahaweli Authority is making its best efforts to provide sufficient water to generate power,” Mr Danapala said.
Dr Wasantha Ilangasinghe, General Manager, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, said the release of water for agriculture would not affect drinking water needs.
He said there are 347 water supply systems, of which 11 in Anuradhapura, 2 in Ampara, and one each in Matara, Kalutara, and Ratnapura – a total of 16 – are considered vulnerable. About 42 water sources have also been affected.
The NWSDB is distributing drinking water to 121,431 people in the affected districts.
As a solution, she said such instances point to the need for a ‘water resources policy’.
Mechanisms are in place to improve the quality of the reservoirs where drinking water is collected and ensure that the region has a reliable source of water. The health of the water depends on the health of the catchments, Dr Ilangasinghe said.
Continuous water level decline makes changes in water quality in reservoirs more knotty. Meanwhile, efforts to build a dam to prevent seawater from mixing into the Kelani River were concluded on Thursday, according to the NWSDB.
The NWSDB and the Water Supply and Infrastructure Development Ministry urge the public to conserve water.
The cultivations of around 50,000 farmers faced an adverse impact due to a lack of irrigation water in reservoirs. Farmers in the southwest have been protesting for weeks, demanding water for crops.
Susantha Kumara Nawaratne, Vice President of the All Island Agrarian Services Union, said the anticipated effect of severe changes in rainfall patterns is a disruption in crop production, contributing to food insecurity and poverty.
Mr Kumara also noted that the prevailing arid condition would spell trouble for rice production as prices would rally in time, a definite issue that authorities have not given heed to.
Mr Nawaratne was of the view that water-intensive paddy cultivation had encountered the challenge of water scarcity in the wake of low water levels in the Deduru Oya Reservoir, which has also exposed vulnerability in drinking water intakes in Hambantota.
He said that although the Irrigation Department started off with distribution of water, 65,000 acres of paddy took a hit. He said relevant authorities should provide water without any shortage under a strategic mechanism. “Water scarcity restricts access to safe drinking water, particularly in the Kurunegala and Anuradhapura areas. Continuation of the water scarcity would eventually lead to a shortage of drinking water,” Mr Nawaratna warned.
“Despite the rains over the past few months, water levels in tanks are dropping to the minimum operating level, raising concerns over supply, especially with the onset of the El Nino phenomenon,” said Dr Shiromani Jayewardena, Director (Forecasting) at the Meteorology Department.
“El Nino conditions will impact water supply and availability, where lower rainfall could result in shortages in water supply. It is expected that the dry spell will end by mid-October.’’
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