Citizens in the Western Province will once again face a prolonged water supply disruption today (5), mere weeks following a 15 hour termination in supply. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) announced that an 18-hour water cut will be imposed from 9 p.m. last night (4) in several areas due to ‘urgent repairs on a transmission pipeline’. As such, residents of Kolonnawa Urban Council and Kaduwela Municipal Council areas and the Kotikawatta-Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha area are to face an 18 hour interruption to water supply, which the utility supplier claims will end at 3 p.m. today.
The NWSDB attributed the disruption to an ‘urgent repairs on a leak’ in the transmission pipeline from the Ambatale Water Treatment Plant. However, NWSDB carried out a similar 15 hour water supply disruption on 29 June from midnight, affecting Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Kaduwela Municipal Council area, Maharagama, Boralesgamuwa, Kolonnawa Urban Council area and Kotikawatte-Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha areas. At that time, the disruption was attributed to the loss of the power supply to the Ambatale Water Treatment Plant owing to essential maintenance work planned by the Ceylon Electricity Board and repairs at the treatment plant.
However, several readers who contacted The Daily Morning stated that despite advanced notice being issued regarding the 29 June disruption, water pressure was already low, or supply disrupted hours before the stated 9 a.m. time which the water cut was supposed to commence. Thereby, many who had wanted to stock up and do their washing and cooking before the disruption came into effect were given a rude awakening that Saturday morning. One of our readers, a retired civil servant, and now resident at an elder’s home wrote to The Daily Morning, expressing disgust at the manner in which the utility disruption happened. A restaurateur who The Daily Morning spoke to, said that those days business was significantly disrupted as low water pressure in the pipes before 9 am water cut had resulted in their storage tanks not filling up fully, causing them to stutter operations mid-evening on 29 June. It is also learnt that the NWSDB and the local Municipal Councils do not have adequate water bowsers to provide water on relief basis to residents in affected areas. In 2023 and early this year, when Sri Lanka was facing a drought, the Government dispatched military water bowsers and even fire engines to distribute water to affected suburbs.
While maintenance and repairs are necessary, with the 18 hour power cut which commenced last night, the public was barely given adequate time to prepare for the disruption, with notice only being issued around 5 p.m. yesterday. Many were caught off guard with little or no time to prepare, as most of the working populace only reach home between 7 and 8 p.m. via public transport. As such, the 18 hour disruption, which covers the better part of today (a working/school day) will leave many parents and employees scratching their heads this morning as to how to organise their day-to-day affairs.
In 2019, it was revealed that more than 700,000 people are living in Colombo city and another 400,000 people travelling daily to Colombo for various purposes. Nearly 150,000 houses have pipe-borne water. However, as of 2019, the water pipeline network which supplies drinking water to consumers is over 150 years old. It is also not sufficient to cater to current as well as future requirements of the city. People living in certain areas receive water only for six to ten hours a day and the supply is limited in off-peak hours. At the time, authorities said, approximately 3,000,000 cubic metres of treated water is supplied to the city daily, of which, 33 percent is lost due to leakages in the distribution pipe system incurring a considerable loss to the NWSDB. This has posed a serious threat to the entire water supply system.
Other than charities, and some places of worship, all customers of the NWSDB are paying customers. The consumer pays their utility bills on time and is fined or disconnected if they fail to pay on time. As such, the State-owned utility supplier should be able to manage repairs and disruptions to a minimum, not inconveniencing the paying customer.
The Government and the NWSDB was happy to show a ‘profit’ after nearly a decade, and must in the same manner be able to at least give adequate time in warning of disruptions and offer alternative solutions to the affected customers, without expecting the public to simply – suck it up. Shame.