Progress in Controlling Efforts of Inland Water Pollution in Sri Lanka: The Case of Lower Kelani River Basin in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Water pollution can be defined as the process or phenomenon of contamination of natural water bodies by chemical, physical, radioactive or pathogenic microbial substances. Polluted water contains harmful chemicals or substance which are not suitable for human consumption such as drinking, washing purposes or bathing and agricultural activities. Paying due attention to this trend, the government of Sri Lanka has introduced several policies and programs to control the process of water pollution. All these policies and programs have been implemented in the Lower Kelani River Basin. Lower Kelani River basin is the geographical area where the highest population and industrial density can be seen. And also, it is revealed that the water pollution level is high in this river basin. The objective of this paper is to discuss the characteristics and trends of the water pollution process and to identify the initiatives that have been taken to control the water pollution. Field survey and reviewing literature were the main data collecting method. Filling a set questionnaire, interviews and observation were the method applied to collect primary data from the field. Basic statistics, diagrams and maps were used to analyze data and present the result.