GROUND WATER CONDITION

OF
CENTRAL PROVINCE SRILANKA

FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCE

SOUTH EASTERN UNIVERSITY OF SRILANKA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................................ii
LIST OF TABLES.....................................................................................................................ii
1

INTRODUCTION TO CENTRAL PROVINCE................................................................2

1.1

GENERAL..................................................................................................................2

1.2

CLIMATE....................................................................................................................3

1.2.1

KANDY...............................................................................................................3

1.2.2

MATALE..............................................................................................................4

1.2.3

NUWARA ELIYA................................................................................................4

1.3

GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY...................................................................4

1.3.1

ROCK TYPES......................................................................................................4

1.3.2

GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES...............................................................................6

1.3.3

TOPOGRAPHY...................................................................................................6

1.3.4

LANDUSE...........................................................................................................7

AQUIFERS OF CENTRAL PROVINCE..........................................................................8

2.1

TYPES OF AQUIFERS WITH RESPECT TO THE REGION..................................8

2.2

REACHARGING POSSIBILITIES............................................................................9

WATER QUALITY IN CENTRAL PROVINCE.............................................................10

3.1

QUALITY WITH CHEMISTRY..............................................................................10

3.2

POSSIBLE CONTAMINATIONS............................................................................11

3.3

WATER QUALITY AND BORNE DESEASES.......................................................11

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................14

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 The location of Central Province..............................................................................2
Figure 1.2 Matale District..........................................................................................................2
Figure 1.3 Kandy District...........................................................................................................2
Figure 1.4 NuwaraEliya District................................................................................................2
Figure 1.5 Rock complex in Sri Lanka......................................................................................4
Figure 1.6 Geological Structures in Sri Lanka...........................................................................6
Figure 2.1 Inside of Rotupihilla Hirigal Cave............................................................................9
Figure 2.2 Rotupihilla Hirigal Cave Entrance............................................................................9
Figure 2.3 Carbonate rocks in Rotupihilla Hirigal Cave............................................................9
Figure 3.1 Ground water hardness level in Sri Lanka..............................................................11

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 General details about each Districts...........................................................................3
Table 3.1 Groundwater Quality in Kandy (Maximum Observed Values)................................10

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INTRODUCTION
There are six main types of groundwater aquifers have been identified and characterized in
Sri Lanka. These six types of aquifers are,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Shallow Karstic Aquifer of Jaffna Peninsula

Deep Confined Aquifers
Coastal Sand Aquifers
Alluvial Aquifers
Shallow Regolith Aquifer of the Hard Rock Region
South Western Lateritic (Cabook) Aquifer

But there is considered ground water condition in central province only. Central province is
consist of three major districts including Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Matale. There are three main
topics which discussed under this report.
Details on general, climate conditions, geology, geomorphology and land use are included in
introduction to Central Province section. Knowledge about Province and District are given
through maps under general section. Annual rainfall, rainy seasons and annual temperature
are included in climate. Interior condition of relevant area is presented under geology and
geomorphology in detailing about rock types, structures and topography. And also usage of
land by man and nature is included under land use. This section is given general profile to
enter the ground water of the considered area.
There are details on aquifers can possible in considered area is discussed under second topic,
Aquifers of Central Province. Major aquifers in area is categorized on main characteristics of
the region on this section. And the possibilities for recharging these aquifers also is included.
Condition of ground water is discussed under Water quality. The quality of water is included
under Quality with chemistry section. This section is mainly focused according to
geochemical data. How affect the water quality due to human activities is discussed under
possible contaminations. Possible contaminations are difference with each other of
considered Districts. Ground water pollution also can be determined on this topic. Then the
change of water quality and possible water borne diseases are included. An idea about nature
of ground water, ground water pollution and the diseases due to pollution or nature is given
under this section.

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INTRODUCTION TO CENTRAL PROVINCE

1
1.1

GENERAL

Figure . The location of Central Province

Figure . Kandy District

Figure . Matale District

Table 1.1 General details about each Districts

KANDY

MATALE

Figure . NuwaraEliya District

NUWARA ELIYA

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AREA (TOTAL)

28.53 km2
(11.02 sq mi)

1,993 km2
(770 sq mi)

13 km2
(5 sq mi)

ELEVATION

500 m
(1,600 ft)

364 m
(1,194 ft)

1,868 m
(6,128 ft)

POPULATION

125,400

36,462 (Municipality)

27,500

4,591/km2
(11,890/sq mi)

4,200/km2
(11,000/sq mi)

3,197/km2
(8,280/sq mi)

(2011)TOTAL
POPULATION
(2011)DENSITY

There are, location of central province (Fig. 1.1), map of Kandy District (Fig. 1.2), map of
Matale District (Fig. 1.3) and map of Nuwara Eliya District (Fig. 1.4) represented the above.
And also (Table 1.1) is represented the general details about each Districts.
1.2

CLIMATE

The climate is cool, and many areas about 1500 metres often have chilly nights. The western
slopes are very wet, some places having almost 7000 mm of rain per year. The eastern slopes
are parts of the mid-dry zone as it is receiving rain only from North-Eastern monsoon. The
Temperatures range from 24C in Kandy to just 16C in Nuwara Eliya, which is located
1,889 m above sea level. The highest mountains in Sri Lanka are located in the Central
Province. The terrain is mostly mountainous, with deep valleys cutting into it. The two main
mountain regions are the central massif and the Knuckles range to the east of Kandy.
1.2.1

KANDY

In Kppen-Geiger climate classification system, its climate is tropical rainforest (Af).[8] With
Kandy located in the central of the island and in a high elevation, the city has a relatively
wetter and cooler temperatures than that of the tropical climate of the rest of the country,
especially the coastal regions. The city has its dry season from December through to April. [9]
From May through to July and December to January the region experiences its monsoon
season, during this time the weather is rough and unstable.

1.2.2

MATALE

Matale's climate is classified as tropical. Matale is a city with a significant rainfall. Even in
the driest month there is a lot of rain. This climate is considered to be Af according to the
Kppen-Geiger climate classification. In Matale, the average annual temperature is 25.3 C.
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The average annual rainfall is 1860 mm. From May through to July and December to January
the region get high rainfall due to its monsoon season. [1]
1.2.3

NUWARA ELIYA

The climate here is mild, and generally warm and temperate. The rainfall in Nuwara Eliya is
significant, with precipitation even during the driest month. According to Kppen and Geiger,
this climate is classified as Cfb. The average annual temperature in Nuwara Eliya is 16.3 C.
The rainfall here averages 2050 mm. The months January, February, March, April and May
have a nice average temperature. Most rainfall (rainy season) is seen in January, April, May,
June, July, August, September, October, November and December. Heavier rainfall can be
seen during both monsoon periods. On average, April is the warmest month, August is the
coolest, October is the wettest month and March is the driest month.
1.3 GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY
1.3.1 ROCK TYPES

Figure . Rock complex in Sri Lanka

According to the map of rock complex in Sri Lanka (Fig. 1.5), Central province can be
considered as in Highland Comlex. And also Kadugannawa Complex (KC) is also included as
a sub complex.

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In Highland Complex, intermediate granulites include charnockitic gneisses and hornblende

and biotite bearing meta-granitoids. Usually, charnockitic gneisses have a characteristic
greasy lustre or appearance in hand specimen, exhibiting weak gneissic foliation. In
contrast, meta-granitoid shows a preferred orientation of minerals such as hornblende, biotite
and ribbon quartz. Also, this rock shows a strong lineation defined by graphite. Many quartz
grains are highly stretched and show subgrain boundaries. In both rock types, plagioclase
occurs as porphyroblasts, inclusions in garnet and coronae on garnet. Generally, plagioclase
show albite twining and include fine quartz grains. Kfeldspar and quartz occur in excess in
both lithologies. Amphiboles occur only in meta-granitoid, as porphyroblasts mainly
associated with porphyroblastic titanite. Charnockitic gneisses show retrograde alteration
products of greenschist facies such as chlorite and calcite. [2]
Pelitic gneisses in the Kadugannawa Complex consist of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, and
biotite with accessory minerals such as Muscovite, Rutile, Ilmenite, and Zircon. Garnet is
rarely found and occurs as porphyroblasts up to 5 mm with inclusions of Biotite.
The main geological feature of Kandy City and its surrounding area is a band of marble one
kilometer thick. This band is classified as coarse crystalline mainly made up of calcite.
Calcsilicate gneiss intruded as bands within the host marble including scapolite and spinel as
additional minerals. Collectively these two rock types give rise to redbrown overburden
latosolic soil that on average ranges in thickness from one to three meters. The major bedrock
types available within the Kandy study area are summarized as percentages in below. The
main rock type identified is Biotite Gneiss, which cover almost half the area. Hornblende
biotite gneiss, charnockitic gneiss, garnet biotite gneiss and granitic gneiss are also present in
considerable percentages. Biotite Gneiss-49% Hornblende Boitite Gneiss-14% Charnokitic
Gneiss-10% Garnet Biotite Gneiss-6% Granitic Gneiss-7% Others-14%
1.3.2

GEOLOGIC
STRUCTURES

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Figure . Geological Structures in Sri Lanka

Fractional faults in Central Province are more located in Kandy District. There can be
obtained intersection points also. Therefore most probably natural springs can be found out in
Kandy-Nuwara Eliya region. But sudden forming springs in rainy season can be obtained in
Matale District due to the underground rock types (mostly crystalline limestone) of this area.
And also these type of springs can be found in Hagurakketha (Nuwara Eliya District).
1.3.3

TOPOGRAPHY

Central Province is located in hill country. Central province is consist of three major districts
including Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Matale. The elevation in the province ranges from 600 feet
to over 6000 feet above sea level in the central hills. The province is bordered by the North
Central Province from the north, the Mahaweli River and Uma Oya from the east, to the
south, from the mountain range of Adams peak, Kirigalpottha and Thotapala, and from the
west, the mountain ranges Dolosbage and Galagedera. Most common special topographic
features for this area are mountains/mountain range, waterfalls and springs for popular rivers.
There are also some majestic feat of nature to explore, namely Worlds End in Nuwara Eliya
District. Worlds End is located in the Horton Plains, which is a rolling highland terrain of
grassland interspersed with forest and unusual high-altitude vegetation. The plains reach over
2000 meters high with the mountains of Kirigalpotta and Totapola looming up from the edges
of the plateau. And also there are lot of most popular mountains/mountain range in this
province such as, Knuckles, Hantana, Pidurutalagala, Riverstone, Hunnasgiriya etc.
Dansinen, Aberdeen, Rathna, Huluganga, Asupini, Galaboda, and Kurundu oya waterfalls are
most popular. Starting springs of most rivers such as Mahaweli, Kelani, Deduru etc are
located in Central Province. Kandy is a plateau in the central mountainous region and lies 500
to 700 m above sea level. The terrain in the Kandy City area does not contain many steep,
plunging slopes except in the surrounding mountains. The topography in this plateau consists
of undulating plains with hillocks formed by the drainage paths. [1]

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1.3.4

LANDUSE

There are tea, rubber, vegetable and spice cultivation and home gardens in Central Province.
Tea cultivation is widely distribution in Matale and Nuwara Eliya Districts. Nuwara Eliya is
most popular for fruits, flowers and vegetable cultivation also. Rubber cultivation can be
obtained in Matale District.
Kandy is a major economic city in Sri Lanka. Pallekele Industrial Zone is also located in
Kandy District. Therefore lot of factories can be found in this area. There is higher building
population in Kandy District. But building population of other two Districts are numerically
less than Kandy.
Kandy: The major land use changes observed in Kandy were in forest cover, built-up area
and domestic gardens. Forest cover increased over 100% during the eight years from 1988 to
1996. This increase replaces the domestic gardens and agricultural land. The change in builtup areas was only 48.2%. However, in both these study areas, a significant reduction was
observed with respect to the cropping intensity of paddies, which cover nearly 20% of the
total land area. This change is not clearly reflected in the land use maps. Paddy cultivation in
the last decade has dropped compared to the late 1970s, and this may substantially restrict the
amount of irrigation water in the paddy fields, thereby reducing the sub-surface flow and
recharge, which in turn influence the groundwater resources in the area. [4]

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2
2.1

AQUIFERS OF CENTRAL PROVINCE

TYPES OF AQUIFERS WITH RESPECT TO THE REGION

There are six main type of groundwater aquifers demarcated and

identified in Sri Lanka. They are,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Shallow karstic aquifers

Coastal sand aquifers
Deep confined aquifers
Lateritic (cabook) aquifers
Alluvial aquifers
Shallow regolith aquifers in the hard rock region.

There are mainly Metamorphic rock originates in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya Districts.
Groundwater in Kandy exists mostly in the form of semiconfined aquifers
in the first 100 m of the bedrock. This groundwater exits both as small
pockets of underground reservoirs and as fissure groundwater. The water
quality is most high in this region. Natural springs with high qualified water are highly
distributed. Main rivers in Sri Lanka are also started due to these types of natural springs.
According to the fracture pattern of this area can be assumed that aquifers are developed on
secondary porosity. With considering these factors, crystalline terrain can be main type of
aquifer in these two Districts. And also artesian aquifers are common due to natural springs.
But some regions such as Hagurakketha has law qualified water as same as Matale District.
And also common feature is, sudden springs are created and landslides are occurred during
the rainy seasons. And also there is carbonate rocks also common. Therefore there can be
carbonate aquifer.
Rotupihilla Hirigal Cave is an example for carbonate rock representation in Hagurakketha
area (Fig. 2.1, Fig. 2.2 and Fig. 2.3). There are stalagmite and stalactite (Fig. 2.2) in cave due
to continuous dissolution of carbonate rocks in saturated zone. [4]

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Figure .1 Rotupihilla Hirigal Cave Entrance Figure . Inside of Rotupihilla Hirigal Cave

Figure .3 Carbonate rocks in Rotupihilla Hirigal Cave

2.2

REACHARGING POSSIBILITIES

The main possibility of recharging is rain from monsoons. Aquifers in this region is majorly
recharging by flowing rain water through fractures after infiltrate to the underground.
In Kandy region, the yields of these aquifers are not very well known and are
limited as they recharge very slowly. In addition, there exists high-yielding
groundwater resources along the alluvial flood plains of Mahaweli River
that are mostly recharged by the river water.

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WATER QUALITY IN CENTRAL PROVINCE

3.1

QUALITY WITH CHEMISTRY

The quality of the water of this region is higher than other regions due to the aquifer in Kandy
and Nuwara Eliya Districts. But in Matale District water quality is less. The hardness of the
water of Matale District is high due to dissolution of salts (mainly Ca).
KANDY- There is almost no continuous groundwater quality monitoring done in Kandy
either. But, as there are many borehole wells constructed in the suburban areas in Kandy,
based on the quality measurements taken in these locations during construction, Table 3.1
below summarizes the groundwater quality in the suburban areas. According this data,
hardness, iron and nitrite are of concern in some locations in southern, western and eastern
regions. Hardness as high as 1,125 mg/l is observed. Further, total iron concentration of 18
mg/l, nitrites 128 mg/l and Sulphates of 500 mg/l is observed. A notable point with these
results is that the groundwater quality in the northern areas is found to be very good. In
addition to the above water quality measurements, there have been a few quality
measurements taken for shallow groundwater wells over the last few years. Although they
have not been tested at regular intervals or at regular locations, some trends can be observed
with these measurements. Generally, most of these quality tests are made on request and for
some of the boreholes used for community piped water supply schemes. This monitoring
shows that the main quality concern in the shallow groundwater is contamination due to
coliform.
Table 3.2 Groundwater Quality in Kandy (Maximum Observed Values)
Parameter

EC

pH

(Mhos/c
m

T-

Sulphat

Hardnes

Nitrit

Mn
(mg/l

F
(mg/l

Iron
(mg/

e
(mg/l)

s
(mg/l)

e
(mg/l)

15.2

500

1096

4.8

50

18

0.5

P
(mg/l)

128

1.5

0.9

197

3.5

0.5

0.65

0.2

1125

48

4.4

East

2,190

4.6
-

North

790

7.9
5.8
-

South

705

7.5
5.6
8.5

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3.2

POSSIBLE CONTAMINATIONS

There are many factories in Kandy District (more in Pallekele industrial zone). The wastes
are released to the environment using landfills in these factories. And also Kandy city is
highly urbanized. Therefore wastes from houses also released to the environment through
common landfill. Most of these landfills are not in quality. Service stations are also can be
obtained in high amount in Kandy city. Oils, hydro carbon products and other wastes from
service stations are added to the ground and infiltrated inside the ground. Therefore the
pollutant can be affected to ground water easily.
Most paddy lands can be obtained in Matale District. Lot of fertilizers are used in these lands.
However they are added to the water source at the end. Therefore groundwater can be badly
affected in Matale District.
Large farms are situated in Nuwara Eliya District such Ambewela, Kotmale etc. Most
fertilizers and pesticides which containing highly toxic substances are used in these lands.
They also affect to ground water aquifers in Nuwara Eliya District.
3.3

WATER QUALITY AND BORNE DESEASES

Figure . Ground water hardness level in Sri Lanka

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According to the above map, there is no water borne diseases in considerable level. But there
can be kidney diseases in Matale District and Hagurakketha area due to Ca contamination.
And also cancers can be obtained highly in Nuwara Eliya District due to pesticides which use
for farm lands.

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CONCLUSION
According the above details, the general characteristics of these three Districts are same. But
they have difference features on underground. Therefore the ground water aquifers are
changed regionally. According to the contaminations, water is affected most differ ways in
considered Districts.

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REFERENCES
[1 C.N. Nupearachchi, K.M.Prematilaka , A.N.B.Attanayake, G.W.A.R.Fernando,
] "Subsurface Geological and Hydrogeological Conditions of the Matale District,Sri Lanka:

Inferred from Vertical Electrical Sounding Curves".

[2 S.M.P.G.S. KUMARA, H.A. DHARMAGUNAWARDHANE, "A GEOSTRUCTURAL
] MODEL FOR THE NELUMWEWA THERMAL".
[3 "Chapter 3-5," in The study of management of ground water resources in Sri Lanka.
]
[4 N. W. S. a. D. Board, "Main Report Sector Planning Section," in Kandy District Water
] Supply Development Program, 2002.
[5 C. R. Panabokke,A.P.G.R.L. Perera, "GROUNDWATER RESOURCES OF SRI
] LANKA".

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