The National Water Supply and Drainage Board is strengthening its groundwater extraction capacity alongside its surface water sources, in preparation for severe dry weather forecast for the first quarter of 2027, NWSDB Chairman Chandana Bandara said on Monday.
Bandara told Daily Mirror that weather forecasts indicate February, March and April of 2027 will be very dry as a result of the El Niño phenomenon, and that the board is taking specific measures to prepare for any resulting water shortage.
Extracting groundwater is one of the alternatives being pursued, he said, and the NWSDB is currently drilling additional tube wells. He cautioned, however, that the approach has limits.
“We cannot depend 100 per cent on groundwater. It is only an alternative solution,” he said.
Bandara said the board cannot manage the situation on its own and is running a joint programme with the Mahaweli Authority, the Irrigation Department and the Water Management Secretariat to prepare for a possible shortage.
Awareness campaigns on using water sparingly are also being run at public institutions including schools and universities, he said.
Context
The remarks mark a shift in the board’s posture since late July, when it said there were no immediate plans to restrict water supply because neither the Irrigation Department nor the Mahaweli Authority had limited extraction from the main reservoirs.
Sri Lanka is already contending with dry conditions, with tanks drying up and crops affected in parts of the dry zone this month. The Meteorology Department has forecast a strong El Niño influence over the coming months.
