Abstract:
One of the basic supportive resources for the economic and social development of
mankind has been the availability of water resources. Due to increasing water demand on
one side, and scarcity on the other, water resources have become an important element in
the development process of nations. Salinity of water has emerged as a crucial issue at the
national level due to it’s’ impacts on the use of water, for both consumption and
agricultural purposes. About one-third of the land area of Batticaloa district is surrounded
by the saline waters of the lagoon. A major portion of the Manmunai North DS area is
engulfed by the lagoon waters. This study aimed at identifying the GN areas which are
most affected by poor water quality, and to explore whether human settlement distribution
had a link with water quality problems, in the Manmunai North DS area.
Water quality was measured in all 48 GN areas of the Manmunai North DS by
randomly collecting two water samples in each GN area, and estimating their EC and TDS
values at two different time periods (November & December 2008). The EC and TDS
figures estimated were compared to recommended minimum standard values for good,
moderately good and poor quality water. It was found that about 15 GN areas had good
quality water where 34.2% of the population resided, while 24 GN areas had moderately
good quality water with about 50.9% of the population. Only 9 GN areas had very poor
quality water in which 14.9% of the population resided. With a population growth rate of
about 1.78% per year in the DS area, the availability of good quality water has serious
implications on the distribution of human settlements in the future. This can lead to
population concentration in certain parts of the DS area.
