People in two chronic kidney disease (CKD)-prone areas in the Anuradhapura and Trincomalee Districts can feel safer following the donation by Sierra Construction (Pvt.) Ltd of two reverse osmosis (RO) plants for the purification of water.
This project is one of Sierra’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in response to an official request made by the Presidential Task Force on the Prevention of CKD, which is a burning issue in the North Central Province and several other areas.
The donated RO plants have been commissioned in the Thalawa Divisional Secretariat (DS) division in the Anuradhapura District and the Gomarankadawala Divisional Secretariat division in the Trincomalee District. The project is a collaboration between Sierra Construction (Pvt.) Ltd and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB).
“We are happy to be a partner in this humanitarian task. This CSR project will provide safe drinking water to around 2,000 people in each area and improve the quality of life in these CKD-affected areas. Each RO plant has the capacity of 10m3/day to purify up to 10,000 litres of water per day,” said Sierra Construction (Pvt.) Ltd Chief Operating Officer Water Supply and Sewerage Anura Premarathne.
The control room and the two RO plants commissioned are sourced from PureAqua Inc. of the USA, which is a leading manufacturer of water treatment and reverse osmosis systems. The purification plants have been transferred to community-based organisations (CBOs) of the beneficiary villages. Each CBO is registered in the respective regional office of the NWSDB as well as with the respective divisional secretariat. The CBO concept is a practiced and proven system in many community projects in Sri Lanka. 
Sierra and the NWSDB will closely monitor the operations of CBOs, the company said. Sierra is one of the leading solutions providers in the water sector and has experience in design, construction and commissioning of large-scale water treatment plants, raw and treated DI/HDPE water transmission lines, reservoirs and HDPE/UPVC pipes distribution systems and house connections. 
The website of the Presidential Task Force on the Prevention of CKD states, “CKD is a widespread disease caused by a wide range of precipitating factors. According to the available health statistics, there are approximately 20,000 admissions/readmissions of patients with renal failure to government hospitals with approximately 2,000 deaths annually.”