Upgrading of hydro metric stations:

Work complete by Dec 2012

Disna Mudalige

Establishment and upgrading of 110 hydro metric stations throughout the country have been initiated to collect and record data on water quantity and quality of rivers, lakes, estuaries, reservoirs and rainfall, said Dam Safety and Water Resources Planning Project Director D C S Elakanda to the Daily News yesterday.

Such data may include water surface elevation, discharge, sediment concentration, water temperature, chemical and biological properties of water, and other characteristics. He said that these stations will be located throughout the country. The work is expected to be completed by December 2012.

This will be carried out under the component two of the project which aims at upgrading and modernizing current hydro meteorological information system. He said that conjunctive use of surface and ground water should be paid attention with the present holistic development approach in the country.

He pointed out that dams and related structures and trans basin canals of the country are suffering from various structural deficiencies and shortcomings in operation and monitoring facilities.

He also said that national hydrological and hydro meteorological data collection network and information system are outdated and inadequate and need modernizing.