Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2021-07-12

Amendments to the National Water Resources Supply and Drainage Board Act in order to face the present and future challenges in the water sector

- The National Water Supply and Drainage Board, established in 1975 under the provisions of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Act, No. 2 of 1974, currently operates 331 water supply schemes and operates 2.4 million domestic connections and 207,000 commercial connections. Accordingly, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board contributes 43.8% of the 93.8% of the total safe drinking water coverage in the country. However, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board has to take the necessary steps in the future to address the challenges such as the rapid urbanization, climate change, rising consumer demands for water and the use of digital technology in the water sector. Although the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Act has been amended on several times to address these issues, it has been identified that the Act needs to be further amended to suit the present requirements. Accordingly, the Cabinet approved the proposal made by the Minister of Water Supply to appoint a committee headed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Water Supply for preparing a preliminary draft by taking suggestions and recommendations from the public and private sector stakeholders regarding the amendments to be made to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Act.