2 March 2026, Colombo, Sri Lanka. UN-Habitat Sri Lanka together with the National Water Supply & Drainage Board and UNI Consultancy Services recently conducted preliminary field assessments to check the water quality of the Kelani River as part of the “Safe and Resilient Water Supply for Western Cities – Integrating Climate Resilience into Water Safety Plans of the Ambatale and Biyagama Water Supply Schemes” project. This project is funded through a USD 469,232 grant from the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)’s trust fund, IRAF, with financial support from the Government of India.

The Kelani River provides water to over 2 million residents in the cities of Colombo, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte and Kelaniya. The main aim of the field assessments was to identify pollution hotspots in the catchment, to scientifically monitor the water quality of the Kelani River, across seasonal variations.

The team tested water samples from selected sampling points of the Kelani River and some of its main tributaries, from downstream and midstream sections as well as associated water intake points.  The team visited downstream locations such as Mattakkuliya and Grandpass, as well as Deraniyagala, Kithulgala, and Holombuwa in the midstream section of the Kelani River catchment.

Based on the initial findings from these assessments, exact water sampling locations will be finalized, and stakeholder meetings will be conducted to gain more understanding of the water quality of the Kelani River.

Implemented by UN-Habitat and the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB) from 2025-2027, this project aims to improve the catchment management capacities of Urban Local Authorities and the early warning capacities of NWSDB to increase the resilience of operations and maintenance of the Ambatale Water Supply Scheme and Biyagama Water Supply scheme, pertaining to climate change induced floods and droughts.