The National Water Supply and Drainage Board will suspend supply to eleven areas of the Anuradhapura district for eight hours on Thursday 22 October, from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., for essential maintenance at the Thuruwila water treatment plant.
Supply will be cut across three separate schemes, the board announced in a statement carried by Hiru News.
Areas affected
Wijepura scheme — Wijepura, Paladikulam, Nelumkulam and Kavarakkulam.
Nachchaduwa scheme — Nachchaduwa, Hidogama, Thuruwila and Nellikulam.
Thalawa scheme — Thalawa, Shravasthipura and Deke Kanuwa.
Separately, the second and third stages of Anuradhapura city will continue to receive water, but under low pressure rather than being cut off.
One plant, three schemes
The notice is worth reading structurally rather than as a list of place names.
A single treatment plant at Thuruwila feeds all three schemes, which is why maintenance at one facility takes out eleven areas spread across the district at once. Thuruwila appears twice — as the plant under maintenance and as one of the areas losing supply.
The board said the work is being carried out in order to provide a better quality water service. It apologised for the inconvenience and asked consumers to use stored water sparingly.
Not reported
The notice does not say what the maintenance involves, whether it is routine or a repair, or whether the 5.00 p.m. restoration time allows for pressure to return progressively — in practice, supply at the far end of a scheme often returns later than the stated hour.
It does not say whether bowser distribution will be provided for any affected area, gives no customer contact number, and does not state how many households or what population the eleven areas represent. It gives no indication whether further cuts are expected at the same plant.
This is a utility notice issued by the board itself rather than independently reported, and no other verified newsroom had carried it at the time of writing.