The combined storage of Sri Lanka’s 74 major reservoirs has fallen to about 36% of effective capacity, with several dry zone tanks now close to empty, the Irrigation Department says.
Director of Irrigation Engineer L. S. Sooriyabandara said water levels in the main wet zone reservoirs remain stable, but capacity in the dry zone is declining rapidly. Reservoirs in the Hambantota, Batticaloa, Monaragala, Mannar and Trincomalee districts have fallen below 30%, he said.
Daily Mirror, citing the Irrigation Department’s Water Management Branch figures for August 23, put the overall effective storage of the same 74 reservoirs at 35.8% and recorded no spilling at any of them.
A widening gap between tanks
The national average conceals a sharp split. Manankattiya in Anuradhapura was down to 1.5% of effective storage and Muruthawela in Hambantota to 1.6%, according to the department’s figures. Ethimale in Monaragala stood at 5.4% and Rottikulama in Ampara at 8.1%.
Others remain close to full: Wan Ela at 96.9%, Vakaneri at 96.2%, Deduru Oya at 94.6% and Rajangana at 85.5%.
Drinking water protected, irrigation curtailed
Sooriyabandara said dry weather is normal for August but that conditions have worsened this year because of the prevailing El Niño, with high temperatures accelerating evaporation from tanks and reservoirs. With demand rising as supply falls, he said, water in the worst-affected areas must be prioritised for drinking and environmental needs, leaving too little to release for cultivation.
Drinking water supplies have not been restricted so far, he said, but the volume released for agriculture has been limited in some areas. He urged the public to use water sparingly, and warned that the heat and dry conditions are raising the risk of fast-spreading wildfires.
The human toll
The Disaster Management Centre reports that seven districts and 23 Divisional Secretariat Divisions are affected by the dry conditions, with 81,865 people from 25,628 families hit — up from the 81,765 recorded on August 21. Drinking water is being distributed across 20 divisions, reaching 72,153 people from 23,048 families.
The reservoir figures follow weeks of dried-up small tanks and destroyed crops across Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Monaragala, and come as forecasters warn Sri Lanka may be approaching a 43-year-old national temperature record.
