By Ishara Jayawardane
“We advise consumers to save on their water consumption in order to counter imminent shortage in water supply” General Manager of National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Lal Premanath told The Nation.

According to Premanath when the water levels drop in rivers located near the sea the salt water flows in at the point where the river and sea meet. This causes huge problems when purifying the water at intakes. Intakes are where the water is taken for purification. The water is pumped, purified and then the water is distributed to the general public.

Premanath also said that those people whose homes are situated further away from the reservoirs than people who live near the reservoirs are at a disadvantage because they are in no position to utilise the commodity of water.

When asked if there will be water cuts, Premanath said that most probably there would be no water cuts though there will be an increase of rates in order to limit consumption.

The General Manager assures the public that his people are working on the problem and doing a very commendable job at it and that a committeehas been appointed to look into this problem.

Dams and barrages have been built across the rivers to prevent salt water from entering any further. However a cause for worry is that mountain streams from up country towns like Kandy are dying out. One possible option is that the intakes can be shifted upstream in order to be able to purify water and to prevent salt water from coming into the reservoirs.