Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 4

by Delgollage Senevirathne, Assistant General Manager (Sociologist) at the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB), Sri Lanka.

(6) Awareness of aquifer as a finite resource

Groundwater comes from two main sources. When it rains water seeps down through the soil until it reaches an aquifer. These aquifers may also be in contact with rivers and streams allowing these surface waters to ‘drain’ into the aquifer. In some places these aquifers can also supply water to rivers and streams.   Groundwater is a finite resource and must be replenished or else it will eventually be depleted.

An aquifer is a body of water-saturated sediment or rock in which water can move readily. Water in the ground travels slowly through pores or fractures depending on the type of sediment or rock material that the aquifer is made of.

Continue reading “Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 4”

Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 3

by Delgollage Senevirathne, Assistant General Manager (Sociologist) at the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB), Sri Lanka.

(3) Grass roots and high level approach to resolution

Community based approach to resolution of water issues relating to competition resulting in water shortages for some communities operating in downstream areas will need strategies for water allocation including mechanisms to ensure equity in distribution of available water among the user communities based on rational allocation criteria.  The water allocation policies at national and river basin levels will have to be formulated and implemented.   Water conservation will be a common approach for resolving of issues relating to water shortages and demand management will be a tool for managing the issues using strategies such as awareness creation among the community users, legal provisions, technology improvements etc.

Continue reading “Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 3”

Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 2

by Delgollage Senevirathne, Assistant General Manager (Sociologist) at the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB), Sri Lanka.

Awareness raising of the need for water conservation and pollution prevention and efficient use of water

Water availability depends on rainwater and groundwater and constrained by two factors space and timely occurrence while it is being impacted due to excessive use and type of use. Excessive use is based on the limitations in availability of water in the specific locations while type of use will lead to pollution of water bodies and as it depends on the quality of return flows in both surface and ground water resources. Efficient use of water will play a major role when there are instances of demand exceeding supply and purpose of water use. Water use for Hydro-power generation will depend on the timely releases from reservoirs and will become a source for secondary usage such as irrigation and water supply schemes. There is an advantage in secondary use of water if the primary use is for Hydro power generation, as there will be no impurities that will be accumulated during in-stream use of water.

Continue reading “Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 2”

Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 1

D.Senevirathne Assistant General Manager (Sociology) Policy and Planning Division National Water Supply and Drainage Board
D.Senevirathne
Assistant General Manager (Sociology)
Policy and Planning Division
National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Sri Lanka

by Delgollage Senevirathne, Assistant General Manager (Sociologist) at the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB), Sri Lanka.

NWSDB is an RWSN Member Organisation. To find out more visit the RWSN main website.

Introduction

Water in Sri Lanka, being an island, comes from precipitation and the average annual rainfall is 1900 mm that falls in two monsoon seasons. The total rainfall is equivalent to a volume of 120 billion cubic metres spread over the land surface which equates to 2400 cubic metres per capita at current population levels – which is expected to reduce to 1900 cubic metres at a population threshold expected to reach 23 million by 2025.  The high intensity rains drain through 103 river basins with catchments of varying sizes ranging from 9 sq. km. to 10,327 sq.km. which is the largest Mahaweli river basin. Twenty river basins are covering wet zone of the country which carry about 50% of the annual surface runoff ( Sri Lanka Water Partnership).

Continue reading “Social Dimension of Water Resource Management in Sri Lanka – Part 1”

Beyond the Borehole: what do ecosystem services have to do with rural water supply?

If there were no aquifers what would need to be built instead? That may seem an esoteric question given that groundwater is relied on every day by several billion people, but it is important to consider what useful things aquifers are, what we stand to lose if we mismanage them and what opportunities there are to tackle deep rooted poverty if they are used well. Continue reading “Beyond the Borehole: what do ecosystem services have to do with rural water supply?”

Posters for “Experience VT” Event

rphall's avatarRalph P Hall

This weekend I will be taking part in the “Experience Virginia Tech: Learn, Explore, Engage” event that was commission by President Sand’s to showcase the university’s impact on the world around us. From 9am to noon tomorrow at the VT Inn, I will be presenting the three posters below that document the research and main findings from an impact evaluation I led of an MCC-funded rural water supply project in Nampula, Mozambique. I plan to capture key moments from the event using Google Glass and will post some images and video to this blog and to my Google+ account during the day.

Poster_1Poster_2Poster_3

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a new phase of RWSN is on the way…..

2015 Theme Icons

RWSN is not a formal organisation, more of a shared idea. In 1992, the network was founded as the Handpump Technology Network (HTN) with a narrow focus on…. handpump technology. 22 years on, and this small group of engineers from the Water & Sanitation Program of the World Bank, UNICEF, Skat and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has become a much bigger family.

As of this morning we have 6,301 individual members, 23 RWSN Member Organisations (the newest are Yobe State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Nigeria and the German-based NGO, Welthungerhilfe) and we have an active team of thematic leaders from Skat, WaterAid and IRC as well as a tremendously supportive Executive Committee.

So where now?

Continue reading “a new phase of RWSN is on the way…..”