G.M.

Bandaranayake Department of Geography University of USJP Sri Lanka

Tank Cascading System of Sri Lanka

What is a tank cascade ? A Cascade is a chain of tanks connected by water, flows from one to another, located in the downstream. A tank cascade is a connected series of tanks organized within the meso-catchment of the dry zone landscape cascade is a system of water storage, using the drainage courses within a definite watershed boundary cascade is a means of storing,conveying,distributing and utilizing water from first or second order empherenial streams cascade is a small storage reservoir system with hydrologic interlinkage by water, flows through the same valley Irrigation tanks, interconnected forming cascades allowing surplus flow from the upstream tanks(s)and return flow from the upstream commond area, to reach the tank that is immediately downstream.

A typical tank cascade

How cascades originated

* Early settlers who settled down in river valleys, first used water directly drawn from the streams * Latter, they made small tanks, like ponds in valley bottoms to store water. Streams were dammed and converted water through canals to tanks. * When population expanded and when they realized that water is a seasonal resource they constructed tanks damming accross rivers. Settlements attached the tanks spread over the valleys from lower to the upper parts. * When Buddhism and paddy culture were incoporated, a hydraulic civilization based on triple elements called tank+village+ temple was developed *Ancient kings main task was the building of tanks and temples, considering it as a meritatious task * When ancient people got a well awareness on the topography of the land they built tanks at every possible sites of the valleys for different purposes in different size

Tank types
Choronicles refer 3 types of tanks 1.Kulu wew (spring tanks) 2.Rada wew(very deep tanks) 3.Talaka wew (ponds in the jungle) 4.Dana wew(large tanks) Parker (1909) and Brohier (1941) identified different ancient tanks made by ancient people for many purposes 1. Jungle tanks for wild creatures 2. Mountian tanks for chena (shifting) cultivation 3. Slope tanks for soil erosion controlling 4. Village tanks for human settlements

Location of tanks
1.In the uppermost parts of rivers: small tanks 2.in the middle parts: midium tanks 3.in lower valleys: larger tanks

Evolution of the Cascading System

* Most

jungle tanks were destroyed when shifting cultivation was extensively practiced * By the 11th centuray, most tanks had been destroyed by outside invations and abandoned as the kingdom shifted to the wet zone * During the period of Dutch administration (1650-1796), some attempts were made to restore canal anicuits irrigation systems, but tanks in the dry zone were completely neglected. * When British occupied the country (1796), the tank irrigation system was badly in function . They made a vigorous effort on restoration and repairing of tanks .They wanted the North Central Province to be re-created. * They launched an immense program on tank restoration, but used an approach of selecting individual tanks rather than the whole cascade system. * During the period of post- independence,(1948-1954) local political leaders made a special attention on the buiding of large scale river diversion projects called colonization schemes. Therefore, small tank systems were further neglected * After 1970s, national attention was focused on the Mahaweli Diversion Scheme. Small tanks were neglected and even some small village tanks were physically damaged by the costruction of massive irrigation channels network of the Mahaweli scheme.

Recent trends

*Recently, some development programs have focused attention on villge tanks Integrated Rural Development Program(IRDP) 1986
(Selected village tanks were restored)

Village Irrigation Rehabilitation Progeam(VIRP) 1990 (irrigation channels, anicuits and sluices of tanks) Village Community Rehabilitation (VCRP) 1994 (community participation on restoring of tanks) All these programes dealt with individual tank restoration, not utilized an approach of overall cascade Today, SriLankan Government has launched a program of Thousands Tanks Restoration. It is also based on the restoration of selected tanks island wide, not concerns with the tank cascading system.

Previous researches undertaken on tank cascading systems

Brohier (1946) studied the technical set-up of tank systems from an irrigation and engineering perspectives.( location,dam characteristics and irrigation channels. Parker(1909),Nicholas(1960) studied the historical backaground of the tank systems. How originated? MaddumaBandara(1985) - significance of tank catchments. Some aspects of land and water resources managements IIMI of Sri Lanka conducted many researches on the view of making framework for rehabilitation of tanks within cascades. Based on basin hydrology. Somasiri (1997) emphasised the importance of village tanks as an agricultural resources.A case study.Water crops and land relationship. Panabokke(1999) dealing with the nature and properties of small tanks, has attempted to identify the sustainable production threshods of village tanks. Calculation of water and crop yield.

Previous researches cont..

Itakura(1995) attempted to build a water balance model for planing rehabilitation of tank cascades. A similar study has been done by Shinori (1998). Utilizing Hydrological parameters Tasuma (1999) has studied how return flows of tanks act as an input of water to other tanks of the cascade system (water behaviour) IIMI of Sri Lanka studied the the possibility of predicting water availability of cascade system using a water balance model. Author (2003) has carried out a reaesrch on socioecological significance of tank villages of Sri Lanka based on a case study concerning with some social and environmental values of tank villages.

Gaps and missing aspects of previous researches

Most researches emphazised the produtivity of tanks,irrigation and water management, physical renovations,rehabilitation dealing with technical,physical or human aspects alone, regarding mostly with individual tanks,sometimes, based on cascades But the problem of efficient use of water is a combination of many factors of physical and social relating to the whole system. Therefore, it is more essential to adopt an integrated approach concerning both physical and social aspects Most practically, in the context of dry zone tank cascades, there is a tight interationship of physical and social factors As shown in the next slide.

Inter-relationship of Physical and social factors

Catchment land use

Land form changes Changes in stream flow

Sedimentation in tanks

Increasing population

Increasing Landuse under tanks

Less water storage

Increasing demand on water

Many researches have missed this integration of the water problem of cascade system thus My research problem is How the past functional mechanism of the cascading system was operated to be achieved the sustainable use of water and How the system has been changed due to integrated socio- physical factors at present

Methodology

* Initial set-up and physical formation of tank systems will be studied by topo-maps, sattellite images, and archaeological evidences * Initial functional characteritics of tanks will be examined by historical evidences, * present land use, stream runoff, landform changes will be studied by field observation, aerial photo and sattellite images interpretation * Sedimentation of tanks is measured at the field * infomation on present water and land utilization are collected by field surveys

Outcome and Importance of the research

Findings of experiences from the past,constrains in the present, could be jointly used in making an appropiate framework for the sustainable water resources development planning for the dry zone Sri Lanka.