My Inspico Experience - Session at National Water Supply & Drainage Board

As written by Rtr. Sithmi Lawanga

Industry experience is a vital component of university education. University of Moratuwa being a leading technical university in the country takes effort in exposing undergraduates to the industry relevant to their field of study by giving practical knowledge about the industry. Inspico is an annual professional development project by Rotaract Mora, organized with the aim of giving a helping hand in fulfilling this responsibility.

The fourth in the series of field visits of Inspico’17 was successfully concluded on 7th September at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Ratmalana. The main focus of the visit was acquiring knowledge on the operations carried out in the National Water Supply and Drainage Board which provides one of the main services to the country.

With the arrival, our team which consisted of first and second-year undergraduates was warmly welcomed by Eng.D.P.M.Chandana (AGM – MD&T). Then, Mrs. G.B.R. Shiranthi (Manager – Training) conducted an interactive session, giving us the chance to introduce ourselves and express what we expect from the program. The first lecture was an Introduction to Pipe Borne Water by Eng.W.B.G.Fernando (Additional GM-CS) which focused on the effect of the existence of such a maintained system operated island wide. Next was an interesting presentation by a Specialist in water treatment, Eng R.R.P.N.Rathnayake. Through this discussion, our participants got an adequate knowledge in the process of water treatment and the standards maintained when treating water to be brought up to the required quality. The first half of the session was concluded with the offering of refreshments.

The event continued with a lecture delivered by Eng A.D.K.K Wijegunawardhana, Manager (Maharagama) pointing out the importance in Operations and Maintenance Activities in the water supply system of the country. The discussion, which was based on the engineering aspect of the operations in the National Water Supply and Drainage Board was of great importance to our participants as future engineers. Mr. Wijegunawardhana also explained to us the role of an engineer in the field of water supply. Afterwards, two presentations on ‘Commercials Activities’ and ‘Finance and Costing’ were delivered by Eng.S.G.G.Rajkumar-DGM(Commercial) and Mrs.A.P.S.De Silva-DGM(Costing) respectively. Through these presentations we got a clear understanding of the process of billing and various other commercial activities involved in the Water Supply and Drainage Board.

After the lunch, the most awaited part of the program, the visit to the Ambatale water purification part started. The transportation was arranged by the National Water Supply and Drainage board and Mrs. Udari Kodikara -Training Officer, took the lead in guiding our team to the water purification plant. In the visit, Mr. R.P.P.R. Rajapaksha (Manager – Operations) gave us a clear idea of how an actual water purification process operates. We got the chance to realize how the theoretical knowledge was incorporated in the real time process.

Another session of Inspico’17 thus reached its conclusion giving an insight into the operations and procedures in one of the main systems in the country. The feedback of our Rotaractors who participated in the visit proved the success of the visit in fulfilling the ultimate objective of Inspico’17. Our sincere gratitude goes to Mrs.G.B.R.Shiranthi -Manager Training, Mrs. Udari Kodikara- Training Officer and all staff at National Water Supply and Drainage Board for giving an immense support in making this endeavor a success.