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| Sunday, 23 May 2004 |
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Reservoirs badly affected by soil erosion by Shanika Sriyananda Four major reservoirs are now under the severe threat of getting filled with earth due to soil erosion in the central hills, a senior official of the Upper Watershed Management Project (UWMP) has warned. According to the UWMP official, the Polgolla, Rantambe, Victoria, Kothmale and Samanalawewa reservoirs have been badly affected while the Polgolla mini reservoir has been affected by over 60 per cent. The main causes for the high silting rate are irresponsible cultivation, unplanned roads and building construction and neglect in conserving the soil. These have led to severe soil erosion in the hill country, according to the UWMP official. Jayanthi Abeygunawardena, UWMP Director Communication said the high silting rate was a severe threat to power generation as well as irrigation activities. "Silting has become a major problem in providing irrigation water due to poor water storage capacity caused by sludge in irrigation tanks. The Rantambe reservoir has been silted by 45 per cent and Victoria by 40 per cent while Kothmale and Samanalawewa also face the same threat", she pointed out. UWMP officials stressed the need for well planned soil conservation measures to prevent soil erosion, which washes away the soil nutrients, making the lands infertile. "It will take more than 600 years to get one inch of fertile land. When the nutrients of the land are washed away due to soil erosion, the land would become infertile and the need would arise to use lots of chemical fertilizer and pesticides", she said. "Another cause for soil erosion is the hotels that are mushrooming in every 'slope' of the hill country. The Gregory Lake is filled with sludge due to soil erosion, hotel and household waste which are channelled to the lake", Abeygunasekara said. |
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