Mr. Sujeewa Gunasekara, Deputy Director in charge of Udawalawa and Uma Oya, Engineer in charge of Udawalawa Network, says that due to the severe dry weather conditions, if there is no rain, it will not be possible to release water from the Udawala Reservoir.
It was only after 20 years that such extreme dry weather occurred in the Walawa region.
He said that the water level of Udawalawa Reservoir will decrease to 1.8% by this afternoon (03).
Due to this, farmers, common people who get drinking water as well as wild animals of Udawalawa National Park are facing a severe water problem.
“The water capacity of the Udawalawa reservoir has reached a level less than 3511 acre-feet. At present (03rd), the water level of the Udawalawa Reservoir has remained at 75.5 meters above sea level. It is believed that the water level in Udawalawa Reservoir will reach its lowest level in two days. If that happens, the water in the reservoir will come to a minimum pressure level. If that happens, we will face a big problem.” Deputy Director Mr. Sujeewa Gunasekara said.
The Irrigation Department said that with the dry weather, water levels in reservoirs across the country are dropping rapidly.
The department stated that by yesterday the capacity of the reservoirs had dropped to 33.3%.
Also, the capacity of the Mahaweli reservoir system has also decreased to 34%.
Due to this, hydroelectricity generation has decreased to 16% of the total electricity generation.
