Article

MH. Mohammed Suhail, DGGEC ; Rasenthiram Athavan ,DGGEC ; Darshan J Mehta ,DGGEC

The current state of globalization had increased the demand for ground water due to the growth in the population. In order to be more responsible in protecting the ground water resources various artificial methods had been adopted. The areas located around the Vadamaradchy lagoon in Jaffna peninsula of northern part of Sri Lanka are highly vulnerable to water scarcity and saline ground water issues due to the lack in the proper utilization of available sources. This exploration is concerned on quantitative estimation of storage capacity of Vadamaradchy lagoon and to find the most efficient hydraulic structure which can be easily accessible to solve the salinity of groundwater and to increase the water level in a productive manner of these prone areas. The study area is characterised by an average rainfall of 1298±683 mm. The catchment runoff from average rainfall (1298 mm) is 78.72 MCM and from 65% dependability rainfall (1128 mm) is 61.08 MCM. The capacity of ponds and waterways in the catchment area of Vadamaradchy lagoon is 13.66 MCM. Vadamaradchy lagoon is directly receiving 101.25 MCM from average rainfall and 87.99 MCM during 65% dependability rainfall. The lagoon is incapable to store 166.31 MCM and 135.40 MCM of water during average rainfall and 65% dependability rainfall respectively. So, in order to retain the surcharge water, it is necessary to construct 3 m height embankment around lagoon boundary. Annually pond can hold maximum 140.4 MCM of water which can easily satisfy the water requirement (30.66 MCM) of total population.