Safe Drinking water to Northern Sri Lanka

Features in the Northern Water Policy:
1. Conserve surface water by adhering to strict water management techniques and rules;
2. Reserve ground water for the future generations by utilizing at least 40% of the surface water stored in any water body or irrigation scheme for domestic, social, environmental and industrial use, exclusion of agricultural needs. (Annexure 1.);
3. Strictly implement the following guidelines for all the major water supply projects to ensure water source for meeting the drinking water demand;
a) Around 60% of water demand from existing surface irrigation schemes. Of this 50 from already existing irrigation schemes and 10 through new schemes or diversion schemes;
b) Around 10% of water demand from seawater Reverse Osmosis (Mainly during the drought periods);
c) Around 15% of the water demand from ground water;
d) Around 15% of the water Demand from any lagoon projects such as River for Jaffna, Thondaman Kalapppu Project, Modified River for Jaffna, Jaffna channel project…etc.
4. Strictly control (through licensing etc.) the drilling of new tube wells, the volumes abstracted and control pumping from existing tube wells using electric, kerosene or diesel pumps;
5. Maximize the use of rain fall available in the province by constructing as much as possible detention storage facilities in village tanks to recharge the ground water and to store for other uses in addition to sustaining livestock and limited gravity irrigation without affecting the forest cover;
6. Agro-forest and private gardens with permanent perennial crops should be established around all the tanks. They can utilize the ground water direct without pumping. Also they help in soil conservation and better ground water recharge;
7. Lift irrigation facilities from agro wells has to be used carefully, not to exploit the ground water resources in unplanned unsustainable manner. The type of pumps used and the capacity should be appropriate to the location, ground conditions, cropping pattern with due consideration for economic, durability, sustainability and environmental protection;
8. Strictly implement The Orders made by Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management under Section 16(1) and16(2) in respect of matters mentioned in Section 12(1) of the Water Resources Board Act, No. 29 of 1964 via the Gazette notification No. 2010/23 - Thursday, March 16, 2017;
9. Conduct a detailed ground water model study to identify recharge sensitive minor/medium irrigation schemes and draft a policy of forgoing certain portion of cultivation in those schemes and allow the reserved water to recharge the ground water;
10. Provincial authorities shall take meaningful steps to rehabilitate all minor tanks and temple ponds in the Jaffna Peninsula, with a view of recharge the groundwater as well as to ensure watering needs of cattle and other animals, subject to proper engineering advice;
11. Provincial authorities shall take meaningful steps to address the issues in the following key thrust areas in the Irrigation & Agriculture Sector;
a. Integrated Water Resources Management;
b. Increased productivity in the use of water (i.e. more crop per drop);
c. Crop Diversification;
d. Assessment of surface and ground waters potential for conjunctive use and management;
e. Integrated natural resources management of command and sources areas of major irrigation systems;
f. Improving profitability of irrigated agriculture through integrated farming;
g. Increased beneficiary involvement’s through joint system management in all major/medium systems;
h. Irrigation Scheme Operational Policy.
12. A Provincial statute shall be enacted;
a. Strictly limit the Chirupoham (Yala) to only 40% to keep the cropping Intensity at 1.4 in all Irrigation Schemes of the province;
b. Ban considerable percentage of paddy cultivation during Chirupoham (Yala), and introduce crop diversification, to cultivate subsidiary food crops with special emphasis on the cultivation of pulses;
c. Keep minimum operation depth of all the Irrigation Schemes between 10 - 15% of the total design capacity of the scheme to maintain the ground water level in the area at higher level.;
d. Share 40% of the total effective capacity of all the irrigation Schemes with other water users excluding agricultural demand.
13. All construction contracts in the Northern Province shall contain specific clauses on landscaping (“rehabilitating” the quarry sites) quarry sites and borrow areas on completion of the work.