Abstract:
Kelani river basin is one of the important river basins in Sri Lanka and it is the largest recipient
of industrial wastes among all other rivers. Further, it is one of the major sources for agriculture
and operation of several productions. Industrialization accumulates detrimental substances to
outer environment; these pollutants can be effect on ground water directly or indirectly. Ground
water demand in Sri Lanka is increasing in the production sector due to quality and inexpensive
attribute of the ground water. Water Quality Index (WQI) is a key to solve the problems of data
management and to evaluate management strategies for improving water quality. The paper
assesses water quality characteristic Kelani river basin ground water using the Canadian Council
of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI). Thirty (30) ground water
sampling locations in the Kelani river basin were selected for the WQI assessment and sampling
was done for period of one year from October 2012 to September 2013. CCME WQI was
applied for eighteen water quality parameters. Based on the results, the average index values and
their ranks for drinking were recorded as poor (33) where water quality for Irrigation and
livestock were recorded as poor (37) and excellent (100) respectively. Thus the results of the
study alarming continuous water quality monitoring must be priority and need proper water
quality management and strategic plan for the river basin to provide safe drinking water.
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