The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation will begin a Rs. 75 million rehabilitation of the Kala Wewa spillway on Tuesday, June 16, aimed at ending a water-leakage problem that has continued at the ancient reservoir for more than four decades, Ada Derana reported.
The gate-free spillway has experienced significant leakage for 42 years, the ministry said, with the loss going unaddressed by previous administrations and resulting in the substantial loss of irrigation water intended for farming communities across the Rajarata. The current administration identified the issue as a priority shortly after assuming office and allocated funding to begin the works.
The rehabilitation will be carried out under the policy direction of the Irrigation Ministry, with financial support from the Integrated Water Productivity and Water Resources Management Project, and implemented by the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka. Total investment is estimated at over Rs. 75 million.
Kala Wewa, located in the Anuradhapura District, is one of Sri Lanka’s largest ancient irrigation reservoirs and a backbone of Rajarata paddy cultivation. Repairing the spillway leakage is expected to restore irrigation water previously lost downstream and stabilise supply to dependent farming communities in a region already wary of an El Niño-driven dry July-to-September window and tighter Yala-season water rationing.
Source: Rehabilitation project to begin to address Kala Wewa water leakage issue — Ada Derana, June 15.
