Exploring the village tank cascade systems (VTCSs) in Vavuniya district, Sri Lanka

Abstract

An attempt was made to identify, validate the village tank cascade systems (VTCSs) and study the water flow from one village tank to another in each VTCS in the eight Agrarian Service Centre (ASC) divisions in the Vavuniya district from October 2017 to December 2018. VTCS contribute a significant share of available water resources for the livelihoods of households in the Vavuniya district. The 1:10,000 topographic map of the Survey Department, satellite images and the digital elevation model were used to identify the cascades and flow direction map for the study area using ArcGIS 10.2.2. Among 756 village tanks in the district, 80 VTCSs comprising 514 village tanks were identified, and only 69 cascades were validated in the field. In addition, this study identified 111 isolated village tanks without connecting with other village tanks and 131 abandoned village tanks. Further investigation is recommended to explore the possibilities of increasing the cascade areas in the study area by connecting isolated tanks with VTCSs. Initiation taken towards rehabilitation of cascades would enhance the livelihood of farm households in the Vavuniya district and lead to sustainable water resource management.