{"id":42948,"date":"2015-08-30T00:58:18","date_gmt":"2015-08-30T04:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=42948"},"modified":"2015-08-30T00:58:18","modified_gmt":"2015-08-30T04:58:18","slug":"water-supply-in-greater-colombo-affected-as-biyagama-coca-cola-factory-diesel-leak-pollutes-kelani-riverepl-revoked-and-production-suspendedrs-one-billion-fine-imposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=42948","title":{"rendered":"Water Supply in Greater Colombo Affected as Biyagama Coca Cola Factory Diesel Leak Pollutes Kelani River:EPL Revoked and Production Suspended;Rs One Billion Fine Imposed"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rukshana Rizwie <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Central Environment Authority (CEA) has suspended the Environmental Protection License of beverage giant Coca-Cola over an incident which occurred on Monday where \u2018diesel\u2019 from an underground fuel pipe had leaked into the Kelani river basin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CEA is concerned over the environmental damage, which is largely evident in this case,\u201d said Ajith Weerasundara, Director of Waste Management at the CEA. \u201cAfter extensive discussion, we have informed the company in question that their Environmental Protection License would be suspended until adequate and appropriate measures are taken by the company to rectify the damages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weerasundara added that the mandate of the CEA and their objective at this point would be to ensure that such incidents do not happen in future. \u201cIn keeping with this, we are now reconsidering giving EPL to companies and factories boarding the Kelani River, we will also be reviewing activities of companies who already have the EPL and operating in close proximity to the river.\u201d<\/p>\n

When The Nation inquired from Coca-Cola, the company came clean with a statement acknowledging that such a leak was reported. <\/p>\n

The company concurred that they \u2018noticed a leak in an underground fuel pipe line on Monday morning\u2019. Although the leak was plugged immediately, oil had \u201cinadvertently seeped into a nearby water body through the drainage system,\u201d their statement read.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Company officials conferred that they had taken immediate steps to rectify the issue. They had reportedly consulted the CEA and the National Water Supply & Drainage Board to mitigate risks.
\nNews of the oil leak was not immediately evident, until the Water Board disrupted water supply on Election Day. Water Supply to three Colombo District Municipal Council areas including Dehiwela, Mount Lavinia and Kotte Municipal Council were affected. Kelani River Basin provides about 80% of the drinking water to Greater Colombo area.<\/p>\n

Sources at the water board said that a company was called in to remove the oil. This process according to them would require time but they assured the general public that water would be restored within the day.<\/p>\n

The Water Board has reportedly collected several samples including water which was contaminated to ascertain the type of oil which was leaked and the extent of the contamination.<\/p>\n

Ironically enough Coca-Cola inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Water Supply and Drainage Board only a few months ago to provide clean drinking water.<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola also spearheads a number of sustainability initiatives under the theme of \u2018Water Stewardship\u2019, through a project named \u2018Every Drop Matters\u2019 funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation. <\/p>\n

The project is a partnership with the UNDP focused on the preservation of the Kelani River Basin.<\/p>\n


\nCoca Cola Sri Lanka Fined One Billion Rupees<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reports allege that Coca-Cola Sri Lanka has been fined up to Rs.1 Billion for an alleged oversight with regard to their water stewardship activities <\/p>\n

Coca-cola, the soda giant, announced an ambitious plan this Tuesday. The company now riddled in controversy over a contamination issue said it would replenish all the water used in making its beverages by the end of 2015. That\u2019s five years of its scheduled goal.<\/p>\n

In retrospect the company may just have to rethink the numbers because over 500,000 cubic meters of water has already gone to waste. Coca-cola Sri Lanka has been treading in ethical grey area in a desperate attempt to diffuse the crisis.<\/p>\n

Chairman of the Central Environment Authority, Professor Lal Dharmasiri however says that violation of the EPL from a company such as Coca-Cola is a grave concern and cannot be taken lightly<\/p>\n

This past week, the company\u2019s Environment Protection License was suspended, forcing the factory situated in Biyagama to an abrupt grinding halt. The company was found to be in direct violation of its EPL when news of the contamination surfaced.<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola Sri Lanka responded to The Nation with alacrity regarding the contamination. A leakage purportedly from an underground fuel pipeline last Monday, the company claims was the cause of the contamination. Although the leak was plugged, oil had seeped far into the Kelani River.<\/p>\n

Ranjith Perera, Deputy Manager of Western Production at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board recounted the 9-hour task to cleanse the Water treatment plant at Ambatale of the oil slick. \u201cAt around 7 am we noticed pools of oil floating on the water, upon closer inspection, we were convinced that it was a strong contaminant and shut down the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Floating containment booms was used to stop the spread of the oil while officials from the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) joined in to remove any residue that seeped to the surface. It was a continuous process of pumping and flushing out water to ensure that there was no traces of the oil.<\/p>\n

To-date, Perera cannot be sure if it was actually diesel like the company claimed or any other benzene. Despite his best efforts, the NWSB recorded over 300 complaints from the Dehiwala alone with callers complaining of a stench and foul taste.<\/p>\n

The Water Board has two intakes from the Kelani River, one at Biyagama, where 180,000 cubic meters of water is generated daily by an automated treatment plant and distributed to North Colombo, Ja-Ela and Kelaniya. <\/p>\n

The second plant is at Ambatale, where 500,000 cubic meters of water goes to the Dehiwela, Kaduwela, Maharagama, Maligakanda and Kolonnawa areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cMistrust among the general public is a huge blow to the institution,\u201d Perera said. \u201cWe\u2019ve accounted for the damages in infrastructure and collateral breach of trust in claims that will now be put forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perera urges companies bordering the Kelani River with factories to stop green-washing. \u201cOver 400,000 people depend on that source for drinking water and its imperative that companies try their best to keep it clean,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Before restoring water supply officials had carried out a grease content evaluation that showed grease at 0.2 mg per liter, the maximum acceptable level for drinking water.<\/p>\n

To be sure of what the contaminant was, Chairman of Water Board Kuddoos Alahudeen Ansar said that sample of water which was taken before and after water supply was restored has been sent to India since they cannot be done here in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a benzene test for Phonolic aromatic hydrocarbon, which will tell us of the nature of the contaminant,\u201d he said. The results of the tests are expected by Monday this week, until then Ansar says that he can\u2019t be sure of what was mixed with water.<\/p>\n

Chairman of the Central Environment Authority, Professor Lal Dharmasiri however says that violation of the EPL from a company such as Coca-Cola is a grave concern and cannot be taken lightly.<\/p>\n

He emphasized that the crisis cost the government more than the company in question. \u201cWe still don\u2019t know the extent of the damage to the NSWB filters and clarifies,\u201d he said. \u201cThe CEA itself had to employ so many people on a day when they were supposed to be granted leave. He said that CEA had to release water from the Laxapana reservoir to flush out the contaminated water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeedless to say, the company will have to compensate,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Reports allege that Coca-Cola Sri Lanka has been fined up to Rs.1 Billion, with several quarters claiming that the penalty to be unreasonably high.<\/p>\n

Dharmasiri added that a committee comprising officials from the CEA, NSWB, MEPA and the Disaster management Centre were in the process of submitting a list of recommendations to the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Coca-Cola Sri Lanka complies, we will consider granting the EPL temporarily,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe full suspension of the EPL will only be lifted if and when the committee finds that the response from the company is satisfactory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company claims that it is dead serious about water insecurity. As part of these efforts, the company according to its communiqu\u00e9 launched 209 community water projects in 61 countries, covering issues like improving access to safe drinking water and protecting watersheds.<\/p>\n

It also partnered with more than half a dozen aid and development organizations, including the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Development Program and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, to help meet its goals.<\/p>\n

Environmental experts have previously questioned Coca-Cola\u2019s water stewardship activities, suggesting they are a way for the company to use its influence and money to deflect criticism away from its environmental record.<\/p>\n

Responding to reports that an estimated 90 percent of all wastewater in developing countries is discharged, untreated, directly into rivers, lakes or oceans, senior director of global water stewardship at Coca-Cola, Greg Koch commented saying that \u201cWe wanted to make sure we were not contributing to that.\u201dUnfortunately for Koch, that\u2019s exactly what Coca-Cola Sri Lanka just did.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Nation<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rukshana Rizwie The Central Environment Authority (CEA) has suspended the Environmental Protection License of beverage giant Coca-Cola over an incident which occurred on Monday where \u2018diesel\u2019 from an underground fuel pipe had leaked into the Kelani river basin. \u201cThe CEA is concerned over the environmental damage, which is largely evident in this case,\u201d said …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Water Supply in Greater Colombo Affected as Biyagama Coca Cola Factory Diesel Leak Pollutes Kelani River:EPL Revoked and Production Suspended;Rs One Billion Fine Imposed’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42949,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42948\/revisions\/42949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}