Kelani River a bane - or a boon to Sri Lanka
A river, whether it would be a disaster or a blessing for the country will depend on the policy decisions, political view, needs of the public and public officials tasked with its maintenance.
Many countries have capitalized on estuaries (area in which a river falls to the sea) through sustainable and ecofriendly management. However, many who see the Kelani River see the garbage dumped into it and how the sand on the river banks have been mined over the years, making the river more a bane than a boon to the country.
The river which begins from Sri Pada meets the ocean at Hekitta. The river no longer flows along the same route it took initially, it has instead changed course in some areas by at least one to two kilometres and it would not be a surprise if the existing route it took was to change once again, the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resource Management said.
The 145km long river also has the second highest volume of water among the 16 major rivers in the country. Kehelgamuwa Oya and the Maskeliya Oya are considered the start of the river which then connects to Malwathu Oya in Kitulgala, Vee Oya in Yatiyantota, Gurugoda Oya in Ruwanwella and the Seethawaka River in Avissawella.
Settlements along the river have been prone to floods during the slightest rain in recent times, due to urbanization and the decrease in swamp land. Uncontrolled sand mining for several years ensured the river grew deeper, pulling in water from underground sources in the vicinity.
The banks of the Kelani River are home to numerous factories from Avissawella to Kelaniya, when the river meets the sea. It has been revealed that many areas along the river banks in Sri Lanka are prone to erosion under the slightest pressure. These large factories including loading docks with huge containers can be witnessed along the river bank as a patch work quilt. The combined effect of the factories, loading docks and the damage caused by heavy mining is causing the erosion of the bank during the slightest rain. The erosion takes with it not just trees and rocks but also houses constructed along the lake.
Officials state that areas such as Malwana, Ranala and Ambulgama were mainly affected by the erosion of the banks of the Kelani River. While measures have been taken to halt sand mining along the river, it is saddening to note that nothing can be done for the areas of the bank that have already eroded.
It is fascinating to note that the course of the river at times takes a 60 or 90 degree angle in some areas. In some instances these sharp turns are in close proximity, making the letter ‘Z’ if one was to see the aerial view of the river.
The river makes such turns in Malwana and then again near the Kaduwela bridge. If a river was to take such sharp turns, it would create land similar to a delta on the inside of these turns. It was highly likely that the delta could wash away or the opposite bank of the river eroding, if the delta was not protected or the banks of the river were not relieved of heavy pressure exerted by factories and buildings in the region.
The phenomenon could be witnessed in Ranala and most recently in Kaduwela, when the bank of the river eroded close to the large concrete pillars of the bridge sinking in the road.
JVP Provincial Councillor and Director of the Biotechnology Research Institute Asoka Ranawala submitting a proposal to protect the river, warned that there was a possibility that the river could change its course in two locations and added that it was also heavily polluted.
Mr. Ranawala warned of the possibility of the river changing its course from Malwana. “The river is naturally narrow in the area due to a large rock and there is a wide bend in the course of the river right before that. The river has widened in the area by flowing over the rock, and now the river is close to the main road. It is possible that if there was to be a very heavy rainfall the river would flow over the Malwana- Biyagama road and right into the Biyagama Investment Zone.”
A similar situation could also be witnessed at the Biyagama Junction along the Biyagama road. “The banks of the river in our country are not very strong, therefore there is a high possibility of erosion.”
The provincial councilor added that the erosion of the banks of the river in Ranala had increased and even large scale sand mining had been halted completely. The pressure exerted by large factories and loading docks with heavy containers along the bank, the release of unclean water from these factories to the river had also increased the rate of erosion.
“The cleanliness of the water provided from the river as drinking water is now being questioned, especially water from the Pattivila water treatment plant which is situated right next to a canal bringing in unclean water. The plant can only be cleaned with chemicals to a certain extent. I have informed the relevant officials of this but it does not seem likely that action will be taken,” Ranawala concluded.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management D. M. Ariyarathne said the length of a river increased as the volume of water it carried increased.
The river often eroded the bank on the outside if it was to flow at an angle. “The main reason for the erosion of the river is sand mining. Therefore, we took measures to completely halt this for over a year now. However, the erosion which began then has not stopped yet.”
Even if a bund was to be constructed along the banks of the river, it would result in the bank eroding. “It is an extremely complicated situation. The bank would erode even if there were no factories and large buildings along the banks,” he said.
The river is naturally narrow in the area due to a large rock and there is a wide bend in the course of the river right before that. The river has widened in the area by flowing over the rock, and now the river is close to the main road
Ariyarathne went on to say that a team had been appointed to look into areas that were likely to be dangerous due to the erosion. “However, I am unable to reveal the exact locations as we are yet to receive the report,” he said.
The Daily Mirror also spoke to Anton Jayakody regarding the erosion of the Kelani River.
“A river can be divided into three sections, which is the area with a high velocity, medium velocity and low velocity. Of the three sections, the banks of a river are most likely to erode in areas with a high volume of water and a low velocity.” Mr. Jayakody explained that the main causes for erosion were sand mining and extreme pressure along the banks of a river. “Especially if bunds were to be made along the river when constructing huge factories, digging of land to lay foundations for buildings could exert a lot of pressure on the bank of the river.”
The Kelani River from Awissawella has a low velocity with quite a number of turns and has two major investment zones, Kudagama and Biyagama, with large factories constructed close to the bank of the river.
“Many of these factories release chemicals or dyes. Even if many did not produce chemicals, many factories in Ranala, Biyagama and Kaduwela produce soft drinks. Many of these factories use water from the river and often release used water back into it. Residents in these areas confirm this,” he said.
The pollution of the river through the release of water and chemicals from factories could be witnessed by anyone, Mr. Jayakody pointed out. “The danger of this situation is that the Biyagama water purification plant established by the Water Board is situated next to a polluted canal. Officials have blocked off the river above the plant and reconnected the flow of water below the plant as a counter measure.”
The issue, Mr. Jayakody said was that these barriers only stopped items such as bags and bottles that float, but the water mixed with chemicals flow right through the barriers. “The heavy pollution of the river is another issue that needed to be resolved,” he said. The Organization for the protection of the Kelani River said that despite many regulations set up to clean contaminated water before it is released to the river, the procedure was not followed by the factories.
“They store the water during the day and release it to the river during the night. Some wait for the heavy rains and release water they have been storing for some period of time. We have informed the relevant authorities about this but they have not taken any counter measures,” he said.
A special parliamentary committee appointed in 2006 submitting its report on the pollution of the Kelani River said the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) had taken measures to ensure factories were not constructed 500 metres from the river bank. However, this decision was changed later to factories being allowed to be constructed on the river bank with the permission of the central government or a provincial council. The report went on to say that contaminated water was released to the river not just from the Biyagama Investment Zone but also from its surrounding areas.
The Pattivila water purification plant constructed at a cost of Rs. 10,150 lakhs is the only tangible change that can be witnessed after the report was released. However, the plant was constructed in an area close to numerous canals carrying polluted water which in turn resulted in residents not having any faith in the water provided from the purification plant.
Panditha Sundara (80), a farmer and businessman living in the area speaking to the Daily Mirror said that his family had farmed along the banks of the river when they were younger. “I don’t remember flood situations during that time. The soil that was brought along by the river enriched the area and we often cultivated those lands when the water receded.”
Sundara went on to say that residents had engaged in many jobs when they were younger. “We built bricks during one part of the year, went fishing during another. It is not the case now, people make bricks through the year now. They have over used the river and its resources,” he said. The old timer concluded that while the resources of the river was a blessing, the river was now dangerous as its resources had been abused well beyond its capacity.