Revision on water tariff

Water tariffs have been increased by 30-50 percent accordingly with effect from August 1 (Tuesday).

The Extraordinary Gazette Notification with reference to the revision was released by the Minister of Water Supply and State Infrastructure Development, Jeevan Thondaman, under Section 84 of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Law No. 02 of 1974.

Hence, charges have been increased per one cubic meter unit (1000 liters) by the revision on the basis of the amount of units being used.

In general, the water bill presents only the total amount per month yet, the consumer has been granted the right of requesting the water bill with separate VAT/SVAT invoices as per registration in advance with the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) in case of necessity.

It is also stated that Samurdhi beneficiaries and estate houses will not be affected by the raise. On the flip side, the water imposts for all other domains have been increased.

The domestic water tariff has also been increased from Rs. 20 per unit for the first 5 units to Rs. 60 per unit in the new tariff revision.

Simultaneously, it is further specified that, water rates of public water taps, garden water taps, government schools, government-authorized charities, places of worship, state-run institutions and hospitals have also been raised in this year’s tariff revision.

Besides the raise of tariff charged for each unit, the costs of service per month along with the sewage charges of the consumers have also been elevated with effect from 01 August 2023.

The water tariffs were last accelerated in August 2022, said Engineer Dr. Wasantha Ilangasinghe, General Manager of NWSDB.

Below are the new rates for domestic consumption:

The Extraordinary Gazette Notification can be accessed here.