Water Board Loses Revenue on Quarter of Supply Distribution

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board faces a substantial financial challenge as it continues to operate without revenue from a quarter of its total water distribution, according to recent findings. The revenue loss represents a critical operational concern for the state utility, which relies on customer payments to fund ongoing infrastructure maintenance and service improvements across the island.

The shortfall stems from multiple sources, including unmetered connections, illegal tapping of water lines, and commercial customers with outstanding payment arrears. These factors have compounded to create a situation where the board's income fails to match its operational expenditure, limiting its capacity to address infrastructure deficiencies and expand services to underserved communities.

The financial pressure comes at a time when Sri Lanka's water sector faces mounting challenges related to aging infrastructure, environmental pressures, and increasing demand from growing urban populations. Without adequate revenue collection, the board's ability to invest in system upgrades and service reliability improvements remains severely constrained.

Water utility officials have indicated that addressing the revenue collection gap is essential to ensuring financial sustainability and improving service delivery across the country. The issue underscores the need for enhanced meter installation programs, stricter enforcement of payment regulations, and improved accounting systems to track water distribution more effectively.