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Flood mitigation programme in Colombo

17 Jul 2021

By Uwin Lugoda Heavy rains during the monsoon seasons have long been the trigger for flooding in Colombo city. In order to help address this issue, the Government has taken steps to mitigate the flooding of the major city via several new development projects. Flood warnings in Colombo have been a mainstay during heavy rainfall, with its frequency only increasing each year. According to Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) data, Colombo has a total of 42 flood-prone areas. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, an official from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) who wished to remain anonymous, stated that these steps were taken upon the advice of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The official explained that the Prime Minister initiated these new anti-flooding projects to help lessen the adverse physical and social impacts caused by heavy rains in the Colombo metropolitan areas. This will, in turn, add to the existing infrastructure of the city, mitigate risks to public health, and enhance the current capabilities of local government bodies. “The two main developments made to the city’s flood control are the St. Sebastian’s North Canal Rainwater Pumping Station and the Water Lock Gate Construction Project. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC) as a suburban development subproject within the Colombo metropolitan area,” said the UDA official. As explained, these two projects have been implemented with two main objectives. The first objective is to pump water into the Kelani River with a maximum capacity of 30,000 litres per second to control the flood situation in the Colombo metropolitan area during heavy rains, when the water level in the Kelani River rises and the flood control gates are closed. The second objective of the projects, as highlighted, was to pump water from the Kelani River into the Colombo North canal system through the St. Sebastian’s North Canal with a maximum capacity of 12,000 litres per second to clean the canal system and improve the water quality. This is to be done when the water quality of the Colombo North canal system is declining. The development of the overall anti-flooding initiative has been broken into four sections. The first three sections are those done to mitigate flooding, which includes a pumping station capable of pumping 30,000 litres of water during rains, widening the flood control gate, and constructing the water lock gates. The fourth section of the initiative is the construction of an access road between the pumping station and the Kelani River for modernisation and maintenance. This will also aid in the pumping of water from the Kelani River to uphold the quality of the Colombo North canal system. The total cost of the St. Sebastian’s North Canal Project is Rs. 2,569 million, and it is being implemented with concessional loans from both the World Bank and funding from the Sri Lankan Government. The starting point for the development is the flood control wall of the St. Sebastian’s North Canal near Nagalagam Street and the last point is the Kelani River. According to the UDA, China Geo-Engineering Company (CGC) has been selected as the contractor for the project, while the construction work is being supervised by SLLDC and South Korea Doa Engineering Company. The project is set to reach completion by September this year, and SLLDC has stated that the development has already been proven to mitigate flooding in the city.

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