EFL concluded Phase III of the Kelani River Water Quality Restoration Programme, which was funded by The Asia Foundation. The project was EFL’s latest intervention to restore the deteriorating water quality of Sri Lanka’s most polluted river, which supplies 80% of water to Greater Colombo. Factory waste from industrial zones, as well as garbage dumping by riverine communities, has degraded river ecosystems which is turn support livelihoods and provide crucial ecosystem services. In this phase, EFL extended its awareness raising efforts
The Kelani River has a total length of 145 km and 2,292 sq. km of river basin. It is the second largest watershed in Sri Lanka and also it is the most polluted river in Sri Lanka due to discharge of effluent from the rapidly increasing industries located in watershed of the river, agricultural runoff, and domestic and municipal effluents, including ad-hoc dumping of municipal solid waste as stated by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). The concentration of water
