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| Sunday, 25 April 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Govt. to dip into groundwater potential by Shanika Sriyananda Water Resources Board (WRB) under the Ministry of Irrigation is seeking more funds to identify country's groundwater potential by mapping the high potential areas. A. B. Samaratunga, Assistant General Manager (Hydro-Geology) told the 'Sunday Observer' that in some parts of the country, the groundwater potential is very high but has not been tapped due to financial constrains. WRB, which dig tube wells and extracts groundwater on small scale, gets a budget of Rs. 144 million, annually, which is insufficient to carry out complicated research work on mapping of groundwater resources in the country. " We have the expertise and capabilities of identifying high potential sites of groundwater but we need more money", he said. "These special research studies to identify groundwater potential zones are done using existing geological maps and aerial photographs, which are costly", he added. According to Samaratunga,the WRB has identified Polonnaruwa, Hambantota, Moneragala, Ampara, Vanni, Batticaloa, Mannar, Jaffna and Mullathivu as high ground water potential areas and the 80 percent of water requirement of these areas can be fulfilled by ground water if the WRB could only demarcate these areas. "The National Water Supply and Drainage Board has already done a study in Puttalam and Ampara but small-scale studies done by us in Jaffna, Mannar, Hambantota and Moneragala are yet to be completed. These areas need extensive studies on groundwater as their groundwater resource potential is high", he pointed out. |
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