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The tank cascade system (Sinhala: එල්ලංගාව, romanized: ellaṅgāva) is an ancient irrigation system spanning the island of Sri Lanka. It is a network of thousands of small irrigation tanks (Sinhala: වැව, romanized: wewa) draining to large reservoirs that store rainwater and surface runoff for later use.
The first tank which can be identified with certainty was built by King Pandukabhaya, who reigned from 437 to 367 BC. It is said that he had three tanks built, namely Abhaya Wewa, Gamini Wewa, and Jaya Wewa. Of these, only one, Abhaya Wewa, can be identified with an extant tank, Basawakkulama Wewa.
A tank cascade is a system of irrigation tanks in single or multiple chains where water from a higher tank flows into lower tanks. Examples of tank cascades include Sri Lanka's tank cascade system , [ 6 ] the Indian city of Bangalore's cascading lakes in the Varthur lake series, [ 7 ] and the Indian city of Madurai 's Vandiyur tank cascade system.
The tank was renovated several times in the past as in the period of British Governor Sir William Henry Gregory (1872–1877 [1] and Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon (1883–1890). [6] After the British rule in the country and in 1958, the tank's bund was reconstructed connecting the tank with Balalu Wewa. [7] [4]
Parakrama Samudra (or King Parakrama's sea or the Sea of King Parakrama) is a shallow reservoir (), consisting of five separate wewa (reservoirs) (thopa, dumbutulu, erabadu, bhu, kalahagala tanks) connected by narrow channels in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.
Major irrigation schemes of Sri Lanka, as evident from the earliest written records in the Mahawansa, date back to the fourth century BCE (Parker, 1881; [1] Brohier, 1934). ). The purpose and determination in the construction of the irrigation systems are depicted by the words of Parakrama Bahu I, 1153–1186 CE: "Let not even a drop of rain water go to the sea without benefiting
The tank's design, including the use of a solid rock outcrop as the spillway, indicates sophisticated engineering from the Anuradhapura era. [ 4 ] Primary sources like "Padaviya Reservoir Project" by H De S Manamperi and historical records note Padaviya's significance as a large town of commercial and religious importance by the 11th century.
The main reservoir of the irrigation scheme is the Magalle Wewa which is located in Nikawaratiya. The reservoir has a total capacity of 9.2 million cubic metres (7,480 acre-feet) and a depth at the spilling level of 5.5 metres (17 ft 11 in). The total length of the tank bund is 1,665 metres (5,463 ft). The 23 km long Ridi Bendi Ela feeder canal ...