`Greening of Innlay Lake Project`

One of the largest lakes in Myanmar, Innlay lake is unique with traditions and customs but also with its beautiful settings. Surrounded by high mountains in southern Shan State, it is very important to conserve Innlay Lake ever green and its environs.

Interviewer: As you are responsible for greening Innlay lake project, Please tell me about the water inflow of Innlay lake?

U Wai Phyo (Director, Irrigation Department, Secretary, Innlay Lake greening project):

These are 29 streamer flowing into the Innlay lake. They originate at the west and east mountain ranges. The Innlay lake water level varies depending on the inflow of those 29 streams. The average annual inflow of Innlay Lake is about 40 billions cubic feet.

The storage capacity of lake is about 12 mil-cubic per feet. So remaining 28 mil-cubic per feet water flows into the MowByae reservoir.

Interviewer: So, please tell me, the problems of reduction of water surface area?

U Wai Phyo: Formally the water surface area of Innlay lake was about 100 square miles. Present, water surface area is reduced to 60 square miles. The main reasons are Sedimentation, Enlargement of villages and Floating Islands.

Interviewer : So, what kind of works to solve this kind of problems?

U Wai Phyo: We conserved sediment reservoirs and slit trap wires. We dredge the water way, we clear the floating Islands, aquatic plants. During the year 1992 to 2000, we had constructed 6 sedimentation reservoirs and 92 silt trap weirs. We have dredged about 13 mi/cubic/ft of silt in (1992-2000), 95 thousand mil/ cubic/ft of silt last year and 85 thousand mil/ cubic/ft this year. We have cleared 449 areas of floating Islands 1992 to 2000.

224 acres last year, 126 acres this years and we cleared aquatic plants about 3,541 acres 1992-2000, 656 acres last year and 415 acres this year.

Interviewer: Thank you very much Uncle and we wish you best of luck for your greening project of Innlay Lake.

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