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Poisoning the water
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By Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa in Dambulla
Many people dispose waste, especially plastic waste, into the Naula Bowatenna Reservoir. This poses a health risk to people who use the water, the reservoir’s Engineer, Buddhika Mahesh Nawarathna said.
Officials of Naula Divisional Secretariat, Police, Pradeshiya Sabha, and officials of the Mahaweli Authority connected to Bowatenna jointly organised a campaign on Thursday (6) to clean up all the garbage that was piling in the Bowatenna Reservoir due to the intense rainfall.
A day or two would not be enough to clear the garbage that has accumulated around the Bowatenna Reservoir, Eng Nawarathna added.
Due to the recent heavy rains in the Kandy region, trash that was dumped in the river such as cosmetic waste, plastic food packaging, pesticide containers, plastic and glass bottles and other waste have washed into the river basin and into the Reservoir.
According to Eng Nawarathna, the Reservoir provides drinking water to people living in the districts of Matale, Anuradhapura, and Polonnaruwa.
He warned that there will be serious health risks if this waste that has been accumulating is not cleaned up. Steps are being taken to remove the piled-up rubbish to protect residents’ lives and health with the assistance of relevant State officials.
Moreover, the machinery used in hydropower generating would be more vulnerable to malfunction if the trash is not removed, said Eng Nawarathna.
Officials also emphasised that tons of this kind of debris are stacked high in every part of the Bowatenna Reservoir and how they wash into the Mahaweli River from nearby river basins and finally end up in the ocean.
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