Groundwater contaminated in many districts - WRB Report

Groundwater in many districts has been contaminated due to agricultural, industrial or other human activities, a recent research conducted by the Water Resource Board (WRB) has revealed.

The details of the research findings were presented at a workshop 'Issues and solutions - ground water management in Sri Lanka' organised by the Dam Safety and Water Resource Management Project (DSWRMP) recently. The research covered seven districts and over 4,000 samples were used.

According to the study, there are various reasons for the contamination.

In the Ampara district, the use of agrochemicals was the main cause for groundwater contamination and nitrate concentration in the water was high.

In the Puttalam district, especially in Kalpitiya the excess use of agrochemicals and seawater intrusion due to over abstraction of groundwater were the reasons for the contamination. High concentration of nitrate and phosphate have been reported in these areas.

In the Gampaha district, effluent discharge from industries was the cause for groundwater contamination and the situation has created a socio-political impact as seen in Welivariya recently.

In the Matale district, over abstraction of ground water from agro wells has created issues. In the Anuradhapura district, a high concentration of fluoride has been found.

High nitrate concentration has been observed in groundwater in the Jaffna peninsula.

WRB has spent Rs. 24 million on this research and two mobile laboratories were used to test water samples.

The quality of groundwater that the majority of the population drink has been a much debated issue in the recent past especially with the outbreak of kidney diseases in several areas in the country.

However, scientific research on the quality of the groundwater was not available to reach any conclusion.

Analysts said that this research can be used as a benchmark and regular testing of water quality and introducing measures to reduce water pollution was necessary.

Water contamination is inevitable with rapid industrialisation in urban areas and commercialisation of agriculture during the past three decades.

The Government has allocated Rs. 200 million to the WRB from the DSWRMP to identify groundwater issues and find solutions.

GW