Muruthawela Reservoir

Muruthawela Reservoir (Sinhala: මුරුතවෙල ජලාශය) is an irrigation tank situated about 4 km north of the Walasmulla town in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka. 

The reservoir was constructed by blocking Urubokka Oya under the Muruthawela irrigation scheme with the aim of catering water to the Weeraketiya, Tangalle and Ranna areas (Jayadeera & Wijesekera, 2017; Madushanka & Wickramaarachchi, 2017). Impounded in 1968, the work of the reservoir was completed in 1971 (Sena & Sirisena, 1987). Presently, the reservoir water is mainly used for agricultural and drinking purposes while the shore area and the island of the reservoir are used by people for agriculture and livestock rearing (De Silva et al., 2016; Madushanka & Wickramaarachchi, 2017). 

The surface area of the reservoir is around 516 ha and the maximum and mean depths are 36 m and 15 m respectively (Bandara et al., 2012; De Silva et al., 2016; Sena & Sirisena, 1987). It has a catchment area of 348 km² and the volume of the reservoir at its full supply level is 47.8 MCM (Jayadeera & Wijesekera, 2017; Sena & Sirisena, 1987).

1) Bandara, R.M.C.R.P.,  Maithreepala, R.A., Kirinde Arachchige, P.T., and Asanthi, H.B., 2012. Seasonal variation of manganese species in Muruthawela reservoir: A drinking water resource in Hambantota District. Symposium Proceedings, International Symposium on Water Quality and Human Health: Challenges Ahead, PGIS, Peradeniya.

2) De Silva, H.C.C., Maithreepala, R.A., Asanthi, H.B. and Priyadarshana, T., 2016. Spatial and Temporal Variation of Physico-chemical Parameters and Primary Productivity in Muruthawela Reservoir, Sri Lanka. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 4(4).

3) Jayadeera, P.M. and Wijesekera, N.T.S., 2017. A Quantitative Analysis of Surface water in the Uruboku Oya basin Demonstrating the Application Potential of IWRM Principles to Complex Irrigation Systems. pp.71-77.

4) Madushanka, K.A.R. and Wickramaarachchi, T.N., 2017. Investigation of irrigation water usage for crop growth in Muruthawela irrigation scheme. In Proceedings of the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Recent Advances in Civil Engineering. pp.85-86.

5) Sena S. De Silva; Sirisena, H.K.G., 1987. New fish resources of reservoirs in Sri Lanka: Feasibility of introduction of a subsidiary gillnet fishery for minor cyprinids. Fisheries Research, 6(1). pp.17–34.