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| Sunday, 8 August 2004 |
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No more stinks from Beira by Anura Maitipe The second stage of the purification project of Beira Lake launched jointly by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the Ports Authority has commenced, UDA sources told the "Sunday Observer". The Beira Lake is spread over 65.4 hectares and over 10 million cubic metres of water flow into Beira Lake annually. A survey conducted by the UDA has found that the prime cause of pollution of Beira Lake was the flow of sewerage into the lake from shanties, factories, hotels and other commercial institutions in the city. As a result Beira Lake has become the main mosquito breeding ground in the city, while inducing offensive smells during the dry season and creating an unhealthy atmosphere in the vicinity. Under the first stage 1200 sewerage lines let into the Beira Lake have been removed. There are another 400 sewerage outlets to be removed. This would be done under the second stage. Apart from the flow of sewerage the other factors causing pollution of the lake were the shanties, garbage and the slow flow of water into the sea from the lake. The UDA has proposed two ways to maintain a regular flow of water into the Beira Lake. One way is to pump fresh water from Kelani river to a connecting canal to the Beira Lake and the other way is to pump seawater into the Lake. However they have found that pumping of seawater is a cost effective way of keeping a speedy flow of water into the lake. The sewerage system in Colombo city was one of the best sewerage systems in the region and it was well maintained during the colonial period. However due to lack of proper maintenance the system was disrupted and waste water drained into Beira Lake polluting it. |
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