{"id":28198,"date":"2014-02-19T19:22:12","date_gmt":"2014-02-20T00:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28198"},"modified":"2014-02-19T19:22:12","modified_gmt":"2014-02-20T00:22:12","slug":"jaffna-kilinochchi-water-supply-and-sanitation-project-will-provide-drinking-water-to-300000-people-in-poonakarijaffna-and-all-the-islands-except-delft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28198","title":{"rendered":"Jaffna-Kilinochchi Water Supply and sanitation Project will Provide Drinking Water to 300,000 People in Poonakari,Jaffna and All the Islands Except Delft."},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/p>\n

M. Sooriasegaran (Engineer)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), recognizing that access to safe drinking water is a basic right of every citizen, is committed to the provision of adequate, safe drinking water to the entire population at an affordable cost and in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner.<\/p>\n

In accordance with this policy, the Jaffna \u2013 Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project was conceived, to provide piped, treated, potable water to 300,000 people in Poonakari and Jaffna, including all the islands, except Delft.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The project necessitated extensive structural repairs to the Iranaimadu Tank, including raising its entire embankment by two feet, provision of lift pumps, gravity and pumping mains for untreated water, pumping stations, water treatment plant at Palai, further pumping mains for treated water, over 18 elevated water towers, and so forth. It is a massive, post-war, civil engineering undertaking.<\/p>\n

Total reliance on a single source of supply, namely the Iranaimadu Kulam, to cater to the entire irrigation requirements of farmers in Killinochchi and the surrounding area, as well as to draw water from the same kulam to supply drinking water to Jaffna, nearly all the islands around it and Poonakari, understandably, caused a great deal of concern to the farmers of Kilinochchi in addition to the recipients of drinking water. These fears are justified in light of unreliable rainfall patterns, and consequently, the water levels in the tank cannot be predicted.<\/p>\n

In order to alleviate these concerns, engineers are now exploring several other supplementary sources of water to feed into the present grid, to ensure rice and other cultivations are not affected as well as to ensure the continuous supply of drinking water at all times. This integral approach is the only way to justify implementing this project, technically, socially and economically.<\/p>\n


\nOther viable schemes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Government of Sri Lanka is fully committed to arrange not only the necessary additional funding needed for the project, but is also committed to divert water from the Mahaweli River, if necessary, to supplement any shortfall. There are also other viable schemes to consider in the future such as a river for Jaffna, preventing salt water seeping in by setting up barriers, and building fresh water lagoons to replenish the storage caverns in the underlying limestone formation in the Jaffna Peninsula with fresh water.<\/p>\n

Under this scenario, the farmers of Killinochchi will receive more water than they had been receiving, ever, as soon as the bunds are raised, and subsequently, when additional sources of water are incorporated, they will receive much more water for irrigation, which will permit rice cultivation during both seasons and also other high value crops, including vegetable cultivation, where possible.<\/p>\n

The fact that the water drawn to supply drinking water from the Iranaimadu Tank is only 10% of its capacity, that it is going to be only in stages, that more sources of water are going to be added to this scheme, that irrigation water management will be in place, that water waste due to leaks in canals will be eliminated, that the capacity of the Iranaimadu Kulam is going to be substantially increased by raising the embankment by two feet, and finally, the numerous safeguards provided in the MoU, will all cumulatively provide more than ample protection for the farmers of Kilinochchi, who can therefore safely and happily allow the people of Jaffna, the islands and Poonakari to the supply of drinking water, while also being able to cultivate enough rice and other crops to their full capacity. The farmers can rest assured that their livelihood will not be compromised in any way.<\/p>\n


\nStorage technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

The farmers’ concerns must also be seen in the context that Sri Lanka has now attained self-sufficiency in food for the first time since independence. In fact, we have now started to export rice. We probably have to therefore think of investing in storage technology to store our surplus crops as a buffer stock for periods of severe crop failures, and to moot income through exports.<\/p>\n

It is commendable that the engineers have now got their designs and safety factors correct by including supplementary sources of water to produce the water supply grid, almost similar to the national electricity supply grid. It is equally important that they consider it their ethical and moral duty to engage with the farmers and convince them that it is a win-win situation for everyone concerned. The continued opposition to this project and the denial of drinking water to people in other areas of the Northern Province by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament, Sritharan, can no longer be justified in the light of the revised design approach and the generous safeguards provided to the farmers through the stipulations in the current MoU. It is neither in the interest of the Killinochchi farmers nor in the interest of people, who are deprived of drinking water in other parts of the Northern Province, especially those in the islands, if attempts are made to resist these moves.<\/p>\n

The fact that the people in Delft are not receiving drinking water under this scheme is regrettable \u2013 this is probably due to the unacceptably high cost of extending the marine pipe lines laid at the seabed all the way to Delft. It is therefore necessary to explore the possibility of installing desalinization plants (reverse osmosis type) to supply drinking water to the people in Delft.<\/p>\n

Sustaining each other<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Killinochchi farmers must be proud of the fact that Killinochchi is providing both food and drinking water to the people in Jaffna, who will of course be grateful to the farmers for their generosity. The important thing to remember is that as producers and consumers, both groups of people are sustaining each other. Sharing water and food is after all our culture, which is underscored by hospitality \u2013 a fact we can be happy about.<\/p>\n

There is fear expressed by Tamil nationalists that the extension of the Mahaweli scheme into Killinochchi to feed the Iranaimadu catchment area will promote racially motivated colonization. The issue of designing a technically and economically feasible method of supplying water for irrigation and drinking purposes must not be mixed up or confused with the issue of racially-motivated colonization, which of course has to be fought against. These are two separate challenges, and mixing them up will mean that we will fail in both challenges. One is a political challenge, which must be approached politically while the other is a technical challenge, which the engineers have already solved.<\/p>\n


\nNational Policy on sanitation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to providing the sewerage system to all the densely populated cities with a view to improving health and sanitation in the country.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, the project will also provide piped\/pumped sewerage and sewage treatment facilities to 80,000 people who reside within Jaffna Municipality and the areas under the Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha. It will not only improve sanitation and health, but will stop the menace of sewage pollution in water in densely populated Jaffna, and the health hazards that would arise through the dumping of raw sewage in the areas under the Kalundai and Manipay Pradeshiya Sabha.<\/p>\n

The total cost of designing and constructing all these irrigation, drinking water and sanitation facilities in the Northern Province is estimated to be Rs18,329 million, which is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Rs10,056 M), French Development Agency (Rs 5,368 M) and the Government of Sri Lanka (Rs 2,905 M). This excludes the cost of adding supplementary water sources, for which the Government of Sri Lanka will arrange the necessary funds. For such a well justified case, if there is a need for additional funding, undoubtedly, Japan, China or the ADB will come forward to provide the funds because it will not only make the initially-funded project technically viable, but it serves three of the most fundamental needs of people in the Northern Province \u2013 water for irrigation, for drinking, and facilitating the sewerage system for the most populated city in the Northern Province, Jaffna.
\nCOURTESY:CEYLON TODAY<\/em><\/p>\n

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By M. Sooriasegaran (Engineer) The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), recognizing that access to safe drinking water is a basic right of every citizen, is committed to the provision of adequate, safe drinking water to the entire population at an affordable cost and in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. In accordance with this policy, …<\/p>\n

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