Understanding the public perceptions towards green infrastructure can be instrumental in identifying effective strategies for greening.  This research focuses on the less exploited green boundary walls among the different green infrastructure options. A questionnaire survey was conducted among three hundred twenty-eight residents in residential areas of Colombo district, Sri Lanka, to understand the public perceptions that affect green urban boundary walls. Using Likert scales, participants expressed their perception of benefits and challenges related to greening boundary walls along with socio-economic data. Relaxation effects, improvement of aesthetic appearance, becoming close to nature, and improving air quality were among the highest-rated benefits. Lack of knowledge and time and money requirement was identified as significant challenges. Misconceptions about property damages and nuisance to the owner are demotivators for nearly 38% of the sample as determined by the cluster analysis. Interventions such as providing relevant knowledge on methods of green wall construction and maintenance methods and subsidies can be recommended. Raising awareness through pilot programs and opportunities for experience sharing may motivate people towards greening boundary walls. The study concludes with strategies applicable in motivating residents towards greening their boundary walls.

The aim of every water supply scheme (WSS) is to meet the demand qualitatively and quantitatively. Although quality can be maintained with appropriate operation and maintenance strategies, supplying increasing demand in terms of quantity is a problem, because large-scale investments are sought for water supply utilities. However, satisfaction of consumer cannot be neglected under these circumstances. Hence the objective of the current study is to examine the influence of the level of service supplied, water quality variations and the geographical location of consumers on their perceptions on service delivery, satisfaction and risk perception. The study was limited to Matara WSS, Southern Sri Lanka. Results of the logistic regression analysis show that the area of residence is the most influential parameter on the taste satisfaction and risk perception. Satisfaction on safety, odour and clarity is more than 95% of the respondents. However, satisfaction on the service delivery is poor and perceived pressure has a major impact on the satisfaction on service delivery and consumption, hence indicating that perceived pressure has a close relationship with the discharge. Further, the study confirms that socio-economic parameters are influential on the risk perception and satisfaction of the consumers. It can be concluded that proper management of available water quantity will increase the level of satisfaction in terms of service delivery.

-Limnocharis flava, a species native to tropical America, is naturalized as a noxious weed in Sri Lanka, India and some other Southeast Asian countries. It is widespread in flood plains, wetlands and agricultural wetlands resulting in poor drainage. In the current study, the influence of different water conditions on growth, development and morphology of L. flava was investigated. Plants were grown on experimental pots filled with wetland soil, simulating flood, standing water and dry conditions. The highest biomass and relative growth rate was observed in the plants grown at flood conditions, while the lowest total biomass content was observed in the plants grown at dry conditions. L. flava showed morphological adaptations in different water conditions, including significant differences in the relative biomass allocation for root, petioles and leaves. Root biomass significantly increased in flooded conditions. Observed decrease in leaf area and increase in leaf total chlorophyll content may facilitate the survival in dry conditions. Plant mortality and no production of inflorescence may indicate the difficulty in surviving at dry conditions. No significant difference was observed between the plants grown under 'high flood' conditions and 'low flood' conditions. Overall, L. flava showed difficulties to grow under dry conditions, but performed well under other conditions.

Water use behaviors, awareness on the water conservation and purification process have an influence on the water consumption of people. Hence, this study assimilates measured water consumption and the data collected in a questionnaire survey to understand the relationship between self-reported water use behaviors and measured water consumption. The study was conducted in four coastal cities in southern Sri Lanka and about 70% of households had alternative water resources. First, self-reported water use behaviors were used to cluster the sample into two clusters. Households reported with highly positive water use behaviors (HPB) were consuming less water than those who with moderately positive water use behaviors (MPB). Positive water use behaviors of HPB group seems to be supported with their higher awareness on the need for water conservation and water treatment process and associated costs. Therefore, this study suggests that increasing awareness on the need of water conservation, underuse of water, water efficient appliances and increasing the awareness on the water treatment and distribution process and cost will help in shifting consumers towards positive water use behaviors.

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