Water for people

By Dr. C S. Weeraratna
csweera@sltnet.lk

This article is intended to commemorate the World Water Day and the 25th Anniversary of Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum which falls on 22 March.

In Sri Lanka, rainfall is the primary source of water. The mean annual rainfall is around 1800 mm with areas such as Hambanthota and Mannar receiving only about 900 mm and some areas in the hill country receiving about 5,000 mm. The total amount of water received in the form of rain is around 100 billion cubic meters per year. Out of the total amount of water received by the island, around 40-60% escapes to the sea as run-off although we often speak of the famous dictum of King Parakramabahu I, according to which “let not even one drop of water that falls on the earth in the form of rain be allowed to reach the sea.

Around 500 million cubic meters of treated water is supplied to about 35% of the population with pipe-borne water by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board. Water to around four million people, mostly in rural areas are supplied by rural pipe-borne water supply schemes which are managed by nearly 3500 Community Based Organisations (CBOs). These organisations comprise members of those families to be benefited and are responsible for the construction and maintenance of the water supply schemes. The water need of these supply schemes are met by village tanks, protected/unprotected shallow wells, deep wells with hand pumps or motorised pumps and rainwater.

Quality of water

A number of issues have been reported in studies conducted on the quality of water. In a study conducted covering nearly one million people in 20 DS Divisions it has been reported that nearly 45% of the people get water considered to be from unsafe water sources. Factors which cause water to be unsafe are a high content of Coliform bacteria, high iron or fluoride concentration. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDu) which is widespread in 11 districts of the country is considered to be caused by water containing a toxic element/s. Eutrophication of surface waters from human and agricultural wastes and nitrification of groundwater from fertilisers also tend to affect the quality of water. Excess nitrate in water which makes it unsuitable for drinking has been reported in water in Kalpitiya and the Jaffna Peninsula.

In spite of the country receiving annually around 100 billion cubic meters of water, thousands of people, mainly in rural areas, do not get a regular supply of water. Hence, they have to walk a few km to collect water and even the water that is available is not pure. There are economic, environmental, social and cultural constraints associated with the provision of safe water. Women are the most affected from lack of access to safe drinking water since in a water scarce situations they spend a large part of their time in accessing water for domestic needs, thereby limiting their involvement in other, especially income-generating activities.

The Dept. of National Community Water Supply

Dept. of National Community Water Supply (DNCWS), which is under the Ministry of City Planning and Water Supply, was established to implement appropriate programmes to supply good quality water to rural communities by assisting the CBOs. The Dept. of National Community Water Supply is expected to facilitate and guide the CBOs to improve the community water supply systems and providing appropriate technical advice to sustain water supply by improving the water retention capacity of catchment areas. However, DNCWS appears to be ineffective in providing adequate support to the CBOs to sustain water supply to the people, indicated by situations where they have to walk a few kms to get water for their domestic use. Even what is available is of not good quality.

Water shortage:

The springs, or wells in the rural areas, which supply water, dry up during dry season causing severe shortage of water to the respective communities. This can be attributed to inadequate maintenance of the micro catchments of the water sources. There is little or no vegetation in the micro catchments of these water sources, and hence the soils dry up in a short period. Lack of vegetation in the micro-catchments causes most of the rain to run-off and relatively a small percentage of water to enter the soil. This amount of water is lost within a short period causing a water shortage. Hence, it is necessary that the micro-catchments are maintained properly.

The Dept. National Community Water Supply need to take action to provide an uninterrupted supply of good quality water to people. This will improve the health of rural and estate communities through adequate sanitation facilities and promoting better hygiene practices, and enhance their living standards by embarking on appropriate social and economic ventures.

Rainwater harvesting:

In view of the increasing demand for good quality water there is an urgent need to resort to alternatives. Rainwater is a very good alternative and relatively the most pure form of water. Harvesting rainwater is the collecting and storing of rainwater for reuse before it reaches the ground. Rainwater if collected and stored properly, can be used for all domestic purposes including drinking, and this practice enables people to obtain better quality water for consumption thus reducing incidence of water born diseases.

The Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum (LRWHF) was established in 1996 by a small group of interested persons from government and non-government institutions. LRWHF promotes the use of rain water for domestic purposes through information, communication, awareness raising, Since its inception this Forum has conducted research and develop further techniques for collection of rainwater and constructed around 6000 domestic RWH systems and about 200 school RWH systems in 10 districts. The Forum has supported around 49,000 RWH systems in the country through training and awareness raising indirectly. LRWHF have been able to participate and contribute in many events and publications related to rain-water harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is a cost saving measure, as water in urban areas has to be paid for. The rainwater that falls on the roofs of extensive buildings such as hospitals, schools, housing complexes.,etc. in urban areas, can be collected in tanks in the premises itself. Water that falls on a roof of 1,000 sq m where the average annual rainfall is 2,000 mm, is around 2,000 cubic meters. The cost of water thus collected would be around Rs. 100,000.Once the collection system is installed, there is no additional cost involved except cleaning the roof regularly and on pumping of collected water to the main water supply system. It is because of the importance of rainwater harvesting, Dinesh Gunawardena, former Minister of Water Supply and Drainage assisted the Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum to promote rainwater harvesting in Sri Lanka.

Sustaining water supply:

The total amount of water received annually in the country remains almost constant, but the increase in demand for water has imposed a considerable strain on the water resources authorities. Lack of access to water in an agriculture, based rural economy, will inevitably impact adversely on the socio-economic well being of the community

In view of the fact that around 40% of the water received is lost as run-off water, it is essential that appropriate action is taken to reduce this loss. Strategies for conserving and protecting water sources are well described in the ” National Policy on Protection and Conservation of Water Sources, their Catchments and Reservations in Sri Lanka” formulated in Feb. 2014 by the Ministry of Land and Land Development. It is important that these strategies are implemented as early as possible, by the relevant authorities if we are to effectively address the issue of water shortage in the country.