{"id":719,"date":"2024-12-11T05:13:14","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T05:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/?page_id=719"},"modified":"2024-12-11T05:29:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T05:29:47","slug":"floods-on-a9-highway-around-akurana-fact-and-fiction","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/?page_id=719","title":{"rendered":"Floods on A9 Highway around Akurana- Fact and Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Floods on A9 Highway around Akurana- Fact and Fiction
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By Lareef Zubair, C.Eng., Ph.D(Yale)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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There is a lack of transparency and engagement of concerned experts, advocates, and others. There are shortfalls in following regulations by officials. Monitoring and enforcement of regulations by officials are poor<\/h6>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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For the past two decades, the Pinga Oya has overflown onto\u00a0 the Kandy-Jaffna A9 highway along Akurana and adjacent towns. After two\u00a0 major floods in 2022 and 2023 which overtopped the A9 road by 11 feet,\u00a0 the 2024 flood season has already commenced on the 8 th of November 2024\u00a0 with a flood that reached 5 feet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

The Engineers\u2019 Association, Akurana (EAA) has been deeply\u00a0 concerned about the repeated flash flooding of Akurana from the Pinga\u00a0 Oya tributaries. Here we set out the position of our scientists and\u00a0 engineers who are deeply engaged on the causes of these flash floods so\u00a0 as to address some misinformation that stands in the way of an effective\u00a0 response.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The primary causes of flooding are:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

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  • The continued construction into the river and its margins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
  • The filling of flood overflow zones.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
  • Land cover used for soil and vegetation\u00a0 beneficial in the infiltration of water to the ground is being reduced\u00a0 rapidly in the catchment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
  • Dumping of solid waste and construction debris in the river.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    The Polgolla Reservoir Does Not Cause the Flash Floods.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    Some attribute the flood in Akurana as due to the impact of\u00a0 the Polgolla barrage. No one has provided any scientific evidence to\u00a0 support this claim. Instead, proponents recount anecdotes which they\u00a0 interpret as causal rather than coincidental. The arguments as to why Polgolla could play a minor role are –\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    The top barrage gates of Polgolla are about 10 meters below\u00a0 the road level of Akurana. Thus, closing the gates cannot cause\u00a0 backfilling of water. If the Polgolla barrage caused backfilling, then\u00a0 the Katugastota and Ambatenna areas and areas at lower elevations like\u00a0 Akurana should also be flooding. This is not the case!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Some attribute the flood in Akurana as due\u00a0 to the impact of the Polgolla barrage. No one has provided any\u00a0 scientific evidence to support this claim. Instead, proponents recount\u00a0 anecdotes which they interpret as causal rather than coincidental\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    In all flash flooding events, water in the river in Akurana\u00a0 flows rapidly towards Katugastota.There was no flood reported in the\u00a0 first 10 years after the barrage was constructed in the 1980s and very\u00a0 few floods were recorded in the 1990s.Some argue that the silt has built\u00a0 up in the reservoir leading silt upstream. There would be an impact due\u00a0 to silt accumulation, however the dominant presence of construction\u00a0 debris, mud and household waste accumulation on the riverbed has not\u00a0 been addressed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    Some speculate that Climate Change may be a cause. There is\u00a0 no evidence for that based on rainfall records. Rainfall intensity has\u00a0 not increased in the last two decades.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Why have the Floods not been Mitigated?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>


    Effective flood mitigation policies are unfortunately held\u00a0 back due to misinformation, misdirection, neglect of science and\u00a0 engineering, and even a lack of common sense. At present,\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    The public are unable to contribute to the governance of the river and its catchment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    There is a lack of transparency and engagement of concerned\u00a0 experts, advocates, and others. There are shortfalls in following\u00a0 regulations by officials. Monitoring and enforcement of regulations by\u00a0 officials are poor.\u00a0\u00a0
    \u00a0Rigorous engineering and scientific analysis do not inform remedies and policies.\u00a0<\/p>

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    Recently Proposed Mitigation Steps<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

    Here we set out some on the mitigation steps for developing\u00a0 effective flood mitigation and river restoration. After the major\u00a0 floods of December 2022, the mitigation steps announced by the\u00a0 government officials led by the District Secretary were –\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>

    1. To remove silt from the riverbed.\u00a0\u00a0
    2. To remove some structures on the river.\u00a0\u00a0
    Widen the narrow (Mangos watte) bridge near the Akurana sign board at the 9th km post.\u00a0\u00a0
    Widen the bridge going to Neeralla near the 10th km post.\u00a0\u00a0
    3. Setting up an alert system for the Polgolla barrage to open its barrage gates at the time of flooding in Akurana. Of these,\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    The river silting has been carried out in a few flooded areas in early 2023.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    The central span of the Mangos Watte Bridge has been broken.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    However, even with these mitigation steps, the flood levels\u00a0 were higher in November 2023 with a daily rainfall of 120mm compared to\u00a0 December 2022 even though the daily rainfall was only 70mm.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    Further, various other construction and earth dumping in\u00a0 the river and its margins and catchment have enhanced the causes of\u00a0 flooding. Excavating the river alone does not help except for a few\u00a0 months until the next flood.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    EAA Recommends the Following Principles for Flood Mitigation\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

    Transparency and Public Engagement\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

    1. Information about the governance of the river, its\u00a0 margins, and its basin should be widely available, particularly to\u00a0 women, youth, and concerned persons, such as engineers, scientists, and\u00a0 advocates.\u00a0\u00a0Fix Shortcomings in Governance Problems\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>
    2. Better informed governance of the Pinga Oya and its catchment is the prime need.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    3. Rules and Regulations about river and catchment need to be enforced.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    4. Government officials, engineers, scientists, and land use planners should be transparent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    5. Sound Technical Plans and Transparent Implementations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    6. Sound Engineering and Science should inform the analysis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    7. Engineers and Scientists from the area should be involved.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    8. Bold Long-Term regional planning priority in needed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    9. Holistic River Management considering people, pollution, and the environment\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    10. Restore and prioritize public access to the river, for washing, bathing, and recreation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    11. Prevent and reduce pollution and dumping.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>
    12. Protect fauna and flora to support ecosystem health\u00a0\u00a0<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      The writer is the Secretary, Engineers Association of\u00a0 Akurana, Convenor, Restore Pinga Oya and Principal Scientist \/\u00a0 Engineer, Federation for Environment, Climate and Technology, Digana,\u00a0 Akurana, Maldives and New York (www.fect.lk and www.disaster.lk and\u00a0 www.climate.lk). He also served as the Former Senior Research Scientist,\u00a0 Columbia University Water Center and International Research Institute\u00a0 for Climate and Society (which has been hosted after starting an R&D\u00a0 program 20 years ago with the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead the Article on Daily Mirror<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Floods on A9 Highway around Akurana- Fact and Fiction By Lareef Zubair, C.Eng., Ph.D(Yale) There is a lack of transparency and engagement of concerned experts, advocates, and others. There are shortfalls in following regulations by officials. Monitoring and enforcement of regulations by officials are poor For the past two decades, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/template-pagebuilder-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-719","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/719"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=719"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":724,"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/719\/revisions\/724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eaa.awwa.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}