National Audit Office finds great risk of groundwater depletion due to overextraction

There is a risk of groundwater depletion in the future due to unrestricted groundwater extraction, a National Audit Office report, titled ‘Evaluating the Legal Mechanism and Its Functionality of Ground Water Management in Sri Lanka’ has said.

The Audit Office has said that there is a risk of increasing contamination of groundwater due to the use of agrochemicals and various other activities.

The report says there is a lack of existing legal provisions for the protection of groundwater. For example the Water Resources Board, the institution that had been identified as the Groundwater Management Authority, has not prepared and activated a National Policy on Groundwater Management and this could be a stumbling block for the achievement of sustainable groundwater management by the year 2030.

“Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources in Sri Lanka and a large number of people use groundwater. About 80% of the rural population meets their domestic needs through groundwater. Farming activities in Jaffna, Ampara, Mannar, Puttalam and Vavuniya depend entirely on groundwater,” the report said.

The National Audit Office says that following the enactment of the Local Government Act No. 42 of 1987 by the 13th Amendment, the responsibility for the management of groundwater came under the purview of the relevant Provincial Councils and through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution delegated management responsibility for other mineral resources.

Many landowners decide what to do with groundwater available to them. “Accordingly, the use of groundwater by landowners, investors and public, places it in an unrestricted and non-acceptable manner and has been allowed to be used without regard to future environmental impacts on groundwater consumption,” the report observes.

It states that 443 tube well constructing institutions had registered with the Water Resources Board as at 30 June 2020. The Audit Office adds that in many parts of the country, water was traditionally taken for domestic purposes through shallow wells.

“Groundwater has traditionally been used for irrigation only in a limited number of areas, such as the Jaffna District. However, over the past two decades, groundwater has been used extensively for irrigation in an unorganised manner. Government and nongovernmental organisations have encouraged the construction of wells and provided financial assistance”.

The Audit Office states that this tendency has led to a drop in the groundwater level in the dry zone where a large number of wells have been dug. Some wells have been abandoned and there have been reports of brackish water coming through the wells. Groundwater density is very high in some areas.

“Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is also reported to be more prevalent in areas where well water density is high. An assessment of groundwater resources needs to be done to determine whether this resource is being used on a scientific basis and prudently,” the report said.