An Inland wetland of Man-made origin located in the Dry Zone of the North-Western province. Inginimitiya is the largest irrigation reservoir in the Puttalam District and was commissioned in 1985. It facilitates supply of water to 2,551 ha of agricultural land, including new land area of 1,880 ha. The tank was constructed by damming the Mi Oya, aimed at doubling the area under paddy and other staple crop cultivation. However, the performance of the project has been unsatisfactory due to the shortage of water in the reservoir. The Mi Oya is the main water source of the water to the reservoir and originates from the Dambulla hills, which are located in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Due to the shortage of water in the reservoir, only 75% of irrigable land is cultivated successfully during the Maha season. The irrigation reservoir and its catchment area lies within the Kurunegala District in the region that experiences an annual rainfall below 1500 mm. The command area of the reservoir is in the Puttalam District. Dry spells and absolute droughts are common in the Puttalam District and have recorded between 120 ?200 days of drought in some years. Analysis of past rainfall patterns (1956 ?1975) indicate highly erratic rainfall, with the annual average varying from 740 mm to 2,210 mm. In recent years it has been around 841 mm per year. The temperature averages around 27oC for the majority of the year. Soils in the area are sandy loam to sandy clay loam, while imperfectly drained soil covers one half of the area.

Inginimitiya Reservoir Related references