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Though the Mahaweli River flows circling the Kandy City it is no secret that the residents of the city and its outskirts have been experiencing a severe shortage of drinking water during the past decade.

While the supply of drinking water to the city is provided by the Kandy Municipal Council, the responsibility of providing drinking water to the outskirts and the suburbs, rests with the National water Supply & Drainage Board. About 21 small water supply schemes and many shallow wells spread around the suburbs have been inadequate to fulfil the drinking water demand of the residents.

Many people are registered and are in the waiting list for several years to obtain water supply connections.

As a result of a request made to the Government of Japan by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) despatched a team of consultants in 1998 to carry out studies and to find a solution to this problem. The Team of Consultants completed their feasibility study and submitted their report to the Government of Sri Lanka in February 1999.

According to this report, it was proposed to implement the Greater Kandy Water Supply Project in three stages. It was suggested that the drinking water problem of a population of around 700,000 spread around seven Divisional Secretariat Divisions -

1. Patha Dumbara
2. Gangawata Korale
3. Akurana
4. Pujapitiya
5. Harispattuwa
6. Udunuwara
7. Yatinuwara 
will be solved during these three stages. Furthermore, the Study Team recommended to implement Phase I of the project as an urgent measure to the acute water problem. Design and tender document preparation of Phase I of this project was carried out from February 2001 to May 2002 by a Team of Consultants provided as a grant from JICA.

Meanwhile GOSL applied for a loan from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance Phase I of the Project and JBIC agreed to provide 5,151 JYM out of the total project cost of Rs. 4,820M in March 2001. Procurement activities commenced in August 2002 for the implementation of Phase I. The total value of the contract is Rs. 3,960M and the Main Contract of Phase I, Stage I was awarded to Taisei Hitachi Plant Consortium in November 2003. The Contractor has mobilised and the work is in progress. The Phase I Stage I of the project is scheduled to be completed in May 2006.

Under Phase I, Stage I, it is proposed to construct an Intake structure at Gohagoda to obtain water from the Mahaweli River. This water will be purified at a Treatment Plant proposed to be constructed at lower Kondadeniya, Katugastota and the purified water will be distributed to service reservoirs through a 26.5 km pipeline at Gohagoda Wegiriya, Gohagoda Pallemulla, Kondadeniya, Kulugammana, Kahawatta, Akurana, Kurugoda, Kahalla, Balanagala, Bangalawatta, Pihilladeniya and Asgiriya.

A very large section of the Kandy City will be supplied with drinking water by the proposed service reservoir at Asgiriya. Asgiriya reservoir will be fed 17,000 cu.m/d of from Katugastota Treatment Plant and the KMC water supply system will provide 7,000 cu.m/d of which 3,000 cu.m/d will be provided to Ampitiya area and 4,000 cu.m/d will be provided to Tennekumbura and Haragama areas situated outside MC areas.

The Main Pumping station will be constructed at Treatment Plant in Katugastota. In addition to that, Kahawatta Pumping Station will facilitate to supply water to high elevation areas of Akurana, such as Kurugoda, Neerella etc.

The Phase I of Stage I of the Greater Kandy Water Supply Project will comprise the following components:

1. Intake and Raw Water Pumping Station
The capacity of the Intake structure, proposed to be constructed at Gohagoda is 110,000 cu.m/d which is the Phase III demand. The pumping facilities are capable of pumping 38,000 cu.m/d which is the Phase I capacity.

2. Treatment Plant
The water from the Intake Pump House will be directed through a 1.6 km pipeline to a water treatment plant, proposed to be constructed at Pahala Kondadeniya Katugastota. During Phase I, this treatment plant will purify and distribute 36,000 cu.m/d of water. Provision has been made to expand the Treatment Plant up to 110,000 cu.m/d.

3. Transmission and Distribution System
Water will be supplied to 12 service reservoirs, inclusive of the 4 new reservoirs and 8 existing reservoirs proposed to be constructed under this project.

In order to supply water to the Kandy City a 700 mm dia. transmission pipeline is to be laid across the Mahaweli River and a pipe bridge is being constructed at Gohagoda for this purpose.

Water supply to Akurana and Kahawatta areas will be made through a 600 mm and 500 mm dia. pipeline and a separate 350 mm pipeline will be laid to supply water to Gohagoda and Kondadeniya areas. The Wattegama road transmission consists of 60 mm and 300 mm DI pipeline to serve central part of Pathadumbara area, such as Polgolla, Madawala etc.

The special feature of this project is that, while the proposed treatment plant will be maintained by the National Water Supply & Drainage Board, a portion of the water from this plant will be distributed to North and Central part of Kandy Municipal Council and the excess water from the treatment plant of the Kandy Municipal Council will be distributed to Ampitiya and Tennekumbura areas, served by National Water Supply & Drainage Board and Kandy Four Gravets Pradeshiya Sabha.

This system of sharing water between Kandy Municipal Council and National Water Supply & Drainage Board avoided any inconvenience caused to the public by laying pipes through the city.

Served Population

a. Improved service level to the existing beneficiary population

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