Protecting Lanka's water resources
National water supply policy vital:
By Ananda KANNANGARA
 Climate change is affecting not only our country; almost all
developed and developing countries have already focused their attention
on implementing national water policies with the sole objective of
facing the globalised climate change," Irrigation and Water Resources
Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the Sunday Observer.
He said that with climate change, a National Water Supply Policy is
vital to protect the island's resources and that such a policy will be
formulated within the next few months.
The Minister assured that the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government would
never impose any taxes on water from the people in the country, since
the country is blessed with sufficient water resources.
He said many other countries which have not yet become concerned over
the importance of protecting their natural water resources will also
implement national policies on water management in the months to come.
 Minister de Silva said that apart from a few areas in the dry zone,
our country has sufficient water resources, but the water levels in some
of them are rapidly decreasing due to climate change.
"We have to face climate change bravely and the time has come to
initiate various programs to save our inland water resources," the
Minister said.
He said adopting a national policy on water management is necessary
at this juncture. If not, valuable lands will go dry and become
unproductive in the years to come.
Minister de Silva said that according to recent research carried out
by his Ministry, due to the liberal use of water by many people without
realising its value, the water levels of many rivers, lakes, waterways
and streams have decreased to a great extent.
Rules and regulations
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Attorney-at-Law and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has been a
Member of Parliament for over four decades, representing the
Badulla electorate in the Uva Province. Before he was appointed
as the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister in the
new Government, he held the Housing and Health ministerial
portfolios for several years. During his tenure as the Health
Minister, he was also elected as the Chairman of the World
Health Organization (WHO) in recognition of his services to the
health sector. |
He said people of all ages, especially the younger generation, and
the farmer community must be educated on the careful use of this freely
available but vital resource.
The Minister said although rules and regulations on water management
were initiated in our country, people are not keen to follow these
regulations.
Therefore, new legislation must be initiated to prevent people
misusing water without focusing proper attention to the resource.
On what action the Ministry must take to preserve water resources in
the country, Minister de Silva said that clearing of forest ranges all
over the country, especially in catchment areas, and the destroying of
wetlands by people for various purposes must be stopped.
The Minister also focused attention on the many wetlands that are
used for building construction or for tourism purposes. As a result, it
is difficult to retain water at such places.
Water collecting methods
He said during rainy seasons, a large volume of water flows to the
ocean through rivers and canals; new water collecting methods will be
adopted by his Ministry to stop this wastage.
Minister de Silva said that construction of buildings and illegal
occupancy by squatters and unauthorised persons in catchment areas are
increasing and this situation has badly affected the existing water
resources in such areas.
Therefore, steps are being taken to stop building constructions and
illegal occupancies in catchment areas.
He said the younger generation must be educated on climate change and
how it affects our water resources.
"As there is no proper water management, a large quantity of water
flows to the ocean. We must start programs to preserve and use this
water without allowing it to go to the ocean," he said.
"If we can adopt such a program, a large quantity of water which is
now wasted could be used to irrigate vast areas of neglected
agricultural lands even in the dry zone.
"It is pathetic that due to various reasons, our country uses only 33
percent of its water while the balance 67 percent is unnecessarily
wasted," he said.
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Water is essential for agriculture |
The Minister said plans have been drawn up to preserve the water
resources at Moragahakanda, Kaluganga, Maduruoya, Ambatanne, Badulu Oya
and Uma Oya.
"To fulfil this objective, we have plans to build large tanks and
reservoirs to store water. This will be very useful to farmers to
cultivate their lands during both Yala and Maha seasons.
"We have also embarked on a water restoration program under the theme
Dam Safety Program and accordingly we have decided to construct tanks
and dams with World Bank assistance. The program will help rehabilitate
existing dams in the country and also to store a large quantity of
water."
The Minister said that he visited several agricultural areas in the
country, especially in the North to listen to the needs of farmers and
according to them, they need to see the restoration of existing lakes
and tanks.
After the 30-year battle came to an end, a conducive environment
prevails all over the country. So it's time to start constructing or
rehabilitating tanks, lakes and dams.
He said a majority of farmers in the North are interested in
re-cultivating their neglected lands which had been forcibly occupied by
the LTTE for several years.
Latest methods
Minister de Silva also focused on the non-application of latest water
use methods by our farmers. Due to this the majority of farmers use more
water than necessary for their agricultural lands.
"We must educate them on the latest water management programs and
water safety methods," he said. He said drip irrigation is essential
since it will help minimise water use for their agricultural land rather
than the use of buckets of water.
He said not only Sri Lanka, but several other countries have already
adopted guidelines to protect water resources.
The country's future dam safety programs are handled with financial
assistance from JAICA while the Uma Oya program is assisted by Iran.
He said his Ministry will carry out new irrigation projects, such as
the Maduru Oya project to provide water to the Wayamba District and the
Uma Oya project to provide water to the Hambantota area.
"In Melbourne, Australia, water is not allowed to be used
unnecessarily to wash vehicles or at large parks. There are separate
places where water is recycled and re-used for such purposes".
He said even in India recycled water is used for various purposes and
Sri Lanka too must adopt such a scheme to preserve water. |
