Attention has been drawn to the Kelani River flood control project, water management initiatives in Colombo city, the restoration of Beira Lake, and the need for a special housing program for low‑income families in Ratmalana and Moratuwa. 

These priorities were emphasized during a meeting held on Monday (18) between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and senior officials of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Minister of Urban Development Bimal Ratnayake underscored the necessity of adopting a special model for the proper management of certain projects to ensure effective implementation and sustainability.

President Dissanayake stressed that allocations made for new UDA projects must be fully utilized within the current financial year. He also highlighted the importance of finalizing projects in consultation with relevant institutions, assigning clear responsibilities for both implementation and long‑term maintenance.

The meeting reviewed several major initiatives, including flood mitigation along the Kelani River, urban water management schemes, and housing programs aimed at improving living conditions for low‑income communities in Colombo’s suburbs.

Deputy Minister of Urban Development Eranga Gunasekara, Ministry Secretary Senior Prof. Kapila Perera, UDA Chairman M.G. Hemachandra, and heads of the Urban Settlement Development Authority (USDA), Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), National Physical Planning Department (NPPD), and the Co‑Management Authority (CMA) joined the discussions alongside senior state officials. (Newswire)

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The Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court today (29) imposed a fine of Rs. 500,000 on a restaurant located in the food court of a shopping mall in Colombo 04 for selling drinking water bottles above the government‑regulated Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

The case followed a raid by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), where an officer posing as a customer purchased a 500ml water bottle. 

Evidence, including the receipt where the water bottle was overcharged, was produced in court, and the company pleaded guilty to the violation.

The CAA reminded consumers that businesses are not permitted to sell goods above the printed MRP, regardless of location, and urged the public to check prices carefully and report violations with receipts. (Newswire/ AI image)

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Israeli authorities have used access to water as a weapon against Palestinians, systematically depriving people in Gaza of water in a campaign of collective punishment, according to a report released by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). 

MSF urges the Israeli authorities to immediately restore water for people at the required levels in Gaza. Israel’s allies must use their leverage to pressure Israel to stop impeding humanitarian access, including water infrastructure needs. 

The deliberate denial of water to Palestinians is an integral part of Israel’s genocide. MSF’s report, Water as a Weapon: Israel’s Destruction and Deprivation of Water and Sanitation in Gaza, documents how the Israeli authorities’ repeated weaponisation of water is not an isolated act, but part of a recurrent, systematic and cumulative pattern. It is occurring alongside the direct killing of civilians, the devastation of health facilities, and the flattening of homes, forcing mass displacement. Together, they constitute a deliberate infliction of destructive and inhumane conditions on Palestinians in Gaza.

“Israeli authorities know that without water life ends, yet they have deliberately and systematically obliterated water infrastructure in Gaza, whilst consistently blocking water-related supplies from entering,” says Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency manager.

“Palestinians have been injured and killed simply trying to access water,” says San Filippo. “This deprivation, combined with dire living conditions, extreme overcrowding, and a collapsed health system, creates a perfect storm for the spread of diseases.” 

Israel has destroyed or damaged nearly 90 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza, including desalination plants, boreholes, pipelines, and sewage systems. MSF teams have documented the Israeli military shooting at clearly identified water trucks or destroying boreholes that were a lifeline for tens of thousands of people. Violent incidents have often occurred as water was being distributed to people, injuring Palestinians and aid workers, and damaging equipment.  

“My grandson was in Nuseirat, in July [2025]. He went to get some drinking water,” says Hanan, a Palestinian woman in Gaza City. “He was standing in line with other kids, and they [the Israeli forces] killed him. He was 10 years old… Getting water is not supposed to be dangerous.” 

The cumulative effect of the water scarcity engineered by Israeli authorities is that it simply is not possible to provide people with sufficient water. After the local authorities, MSF is the largest producer and a main distributor of drinking water in Gaza, yet between May and November 2025, one in every five of our water distributions ran dry as our trucks were unable to carry sufficient water for all the people who required it. Israeli military displacement orders have locked our teams out of areas where we had provided water to hundreds of thousands of people, leading to essential services stopping and the loss of lifesaving infrastructure.

Israeli authorities have hindered the entry of essential water and sanitation materials into Gaza. Since October 2023, electricity, fuel, and supplies like generators, their spare parts, and engine oil – critical to power water treatment and distribution – have been cut or tightly restricted. One-third of our requests to bring in critical water and sanitation supplies have been rejected or left unanswered. These supplies include water desalination units, pumps, chlorine and other chemicals to treat water, water tanks, insect repellent, and latrines. Many of the items that were approved by the Israeli authorities were then subsequently turned away at the border.

“We need water,” says Ali, a Palestinian displaced and living in a camp in Deir Al-Balah. “It does not make sense. It’s like we are asking the world for the essentials of life.”

The consequences of this deprivation of access to water are far-reaching on people’s health, hygiene, and dignity, particularly for women and people with disabilities. Access to basic hygiene, including clean water, soap, diapers, and menstrual hygiene products, has become extremely difficult. People are forced to dig holes in the sand as toilets, which flood and contaminate the surroundings and groundwater with faeces.

The lack of access to water and hygiene, coupled with life in dire and undignified conditions like overcrowded tents and makeshift shelters, also leads to increases in diseases, including respiratory infections, skin diseases, and diarrhoeal diseases. Skin diseases comprised nearly 18 per cent of MSF general healthcare consultations in 2025, while between May and August 2025, we found that nearly 25 per cent of people had experienced gastrointestinal illness in the previous month. 

About MSF- 

MSF is the largest producer of drinking water in the Gaza Strip after the local authorities. In March 2026, through gradual improvements despite the extremely restricted conditions, MSF produced or distributed over 5.3 million litres of water in Gaza each day, the equivalent of the minimum needs of over 407,000 people – one in five inhabitants of the Strip. During the month of March, MSF distributed over 100 million litres: that is 1,507 km of 20-litre jerrycans lined up, the equivalent of stretching from Riyadh to Amman, or London to Rome. 

Full report: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/israel-must-stop-using-water-weapon-collective-punishment-gaza (Newswire)

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India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and shutting the Attari-Wagah border following the heinous Pahalgam terror attack has rattled Pakistan’s already struggling economy. Islamabad, caught off-guard by the swift and sweeping measures, is now facing mounting pressure across critical sectors — agriculture, health, fertiliser supply, and access to vital water resources.

Through the now-suspended IWT, Pakistan gets roughly 80% of the waters of western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab) that flow through India into Pakistan, whereas India’s share from the eastern rivers (Beas, Ravi and Sutlej) is 20%. The suspension of the treaty will hit Pakistan way more than India.

“This is a clever, popular and populistic measure,” said Happymon Jacob, an associate professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University, as quoted by New York Times.

Agriculture – Pakistan’s lifeline under threat

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, contributing around 20% to its GDP and employing over 38% of its labour force. In fact, more than 80% of Pakistan’s agriculture and around a third of its hydropower generation depend on the waters of the Indus basin.

Following the suspension of the IWT, New Delhi has hinted at restricting or diverting waters from the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) for exclusive Indian use. While India cannot stop water flows immediately, but even a marginal reduction in river flow could cripple irrigation cycles in key agricultural belts like Punjab and Sindh, which depend heavily on the Indus system for crops such as wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane.

According to US Department of Agriculture data (2015–2018 averages), the Punjab province alone accounts for 77% of Pakistan’s wheat production. Sindh contributes another 15%, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for about 5%, and Balochistan just 3.5%. The heartland of Pakistan’s wheat belt is crisscrossed by rivers like the Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, and Sutlej, all of which originate in India. This means any reduction or disruption in water flow would severely impact over three-fourths of Pakistan’s wheat output.

Districts along the Indus and its tributaries, including areas around Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Multan, and Bahawalpur, report the highest wheat production levels (ranging between 450 to 1,200 thousand metric tons). Central and Southern Punjab regions, shown in deep green on the map, would be particularly vulnerable if water shortages persist during critical sowing and harvesting windows.

Food prices in Pakistan are already soaring due to internal economic woes. Any shock to agriculture output, especially wheat — the staple food — will further fuel inflation, deepen poverty, and create rural unrest. A shortfall in wheat could also force Pakistan to import grains, straining its fragile foreign exchange reserves.

Medicine shortages: A brewing health crisis

With Islamabad suspending trade ties, a day after India downgraded diplomatic relations with Pakistan, its health authorities have initiated emergency measures to secure pharmaceutical supplies. Currently, Islamabad relies on India for 30-40 per cent of its pharmaceutical raw materials, including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and advanced therapeutic products. Critical life-saving drugs for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and antibiotics were sourced from Indian manufacturers due to their affordability and quality.

India’s department of pharmaceuticals has requested the pharma exports body to prepare a list of medicines and pharmaceutical products exported to Pakistan.

Reports suggest that Drug Regulator Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) is exploring alternative sources in China, Russia and several European countries.

The country could witness shortage of vital medicines if immediate steps are not taken. The shortage of medicines will inevitably lead to a surge in prices, making essential healthcare unaffordable for a large segment of the Pakistani population. This scarcity will also fuel the growth of black markets, where unregistered and potentially substandard medicines, often smuggled from various sources, will be sold at exorbitant prices, further jeopardizing public health.

Fertiliser shortage: Food production at risk

India has historically been a major supplier of DAP (Di-ammonium phosphate) and urea, critical fertilisers for Pakistan’s major crops. The trade suspension by Pakistan means it must now seek more expensive imports from Gulf countries, China, or Central Asia.

However, this will likely involve higher transportation costs and potential delays in supply, further impacting the agricultural cycle and overall productivity. The reliance on distant suppliers also increases Pakistan’s vulnerability to global supply chain disruptions and price volatility. (Money Control)

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The proposal for the promotion of tourism and passenger transport activities by using water sources of Sri Lanka under a public-private partnership has received Cabinet approval. 

According to the government, as Sri Lanka is an island full of water sources and water flows, there is a possibility to use these resources effectively to develop the tourism industry and urban passenger transport. 

As such, attention has been focused on starting a boat service covering several areas using water flows that exist within the island and as well as the coastline. 

It has been proposed to launch a coastline transport service between Puttalam-Fort, Fort-Galle, and Galle-Matara and facilitate the promotion of tourism and passenger transport through the development of required infrastructure facilities. 

Further, it is also expected to promote the tourism industry by providing inland water resource facilities using potential water sources such as Hamilton Canal, Bera Lake, Diyawanna Oya, and Madu Ganga. 

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Tourism to do a feasibility study in respect of the implementation of the relevant project and to implement the proposed project as a public-private combined program based on the results of the feasibility study. (Newswire)

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million policy-based loan to support Sri Lanka’s water supply and sanitation sector reforms to enhance the country’s resilience to climate change impacts and promote long-term sustainability.

The Water Supply and Sanitation Reform Program, composed of two subprograms of $100 million each, will contribute to a more resilient and sustainable delivery of water supply and sanitation services, the ADB said in a statement.

Subprogram 1 will establish policies and strategies nationally and for the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) while the subprogram 2 will support the implementation of reform actions and guidelines.

“Efficient delivery of safe and reliable water supply in Sri Lanka is limited by fragmented water resources management and exacerbated by climate change. This significantly affects the daily life of Sri Lankans—many of whom do not have access to piped water supply,” said Senior Urban Development Specialist Pedro Almeida.

“This program will not only strengthen mechanisms to ensure adequate access to safe water but also address governance and sustainability challenges of the sector that will enable the participation of the private sector.”

Water resources management in the country faces longstanding challenges such as unbalanced allocation between agriculture and drinking water, inadequate climate change consideration in planning and development, involvement of several agencies at national and regional level, and impacts from unplanned land use and deforestation.

To strengthen water resources management, climate resilience and environmental sustainability of water supply operations, subprogram 1 is supporting the National Water Resources Policy approved by the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure adequate procedures are in place for equitable water allocation and sharing.

Other measures promoted include national policies to ensure access to safe drinking water, gender-sensitive and inclusive water service delivery, and a climate change roadmap.

Subprogram 1 is also helping to enhance the efficiency and performance of the sector through the Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development’s (MWS) approval of a climate-resilient project appraisal framework for investments in the drinking water sector, and NWSDB’s financial sustainability, efficiency, and performance through financial sustainability and public-private sector roadmaps, and a business efficiency action plan.

The program comes with $800,000 of technical assistance grant that will provide capacity and advisory support to MWS and NWSDB for the formulation, deployment, implementation, and monitoring of the reform initiatives in the next subprogram. ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund will cover $500,000 of the amount while the Water Innovation Trust Fund, under the Water Financing Partnership Facility administered by ADB, will finance $300,000.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region. (Newswire)

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A Gazette notification has been issued on the revised water tariffs, effective from 21 August 2024.

The Gazette was issued after the Cabinet recently approved the proposal by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board to reduce water tariffs based on the tariff formula.

As per the Gazette, the reduced water tariffs are as follows; 

Gazette – http://documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2024/8/2398-14_E.pdf (Newswire)

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Data from a retired NASA mission has revealed evidence of an underground reservoir of water deep beneath the surface of Mars, according to new research.

A team of scientists estimates that there may be enough water, trapped in tiny cracks and pores of rock in the middle of the Martian crust, to fill oceans on the planet’s surface. The groundwater would likely cover the entirety of Mars to a depth of 1 mile (1.6 kilometers), the study found.

The data came from NASA’s InSight lander, which used a seismometer to study the interior of Mars from 2018 to 2022.

Future astronauts exploring Mars would encounter a whole host of challenges if they tried to access the water, because it’s located between 7 and 12 miles (11.5 and 20 kilometers) beneath the surface, according to the study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

But the finding uncovers new details about the geological history of Mars — and suggests a new place to search for life on the red planet if the water could ever be accessed.

“Understanding the Martian water cycle is critical for understanding the evolution of the climate, surface and interior,” said lead study author Vashan Wright, assistant professor and geophysicist at the University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in a statement. “A useful starting point is to identify where water is and how much is there.”

The search for ‘lost’ water on Mars

Mars was likely a warmer, wetter place billions of years ago, based on the evidence of ancient lakes, river channels, deltas and rocks altered by water studied by other NASA missions and observed by orbiters. But the red planet lost its atmosphere more than 3 billion years ago, which effectively ended the wet period on Mars.

Scientists still aren’t sure why Mars lost its atmosphere, and a multitude of missions have been developed to learn about the history of the planet’s water, where it went, and whether water ever created habitable conditions for life on Mars. While water remains trapped as ice at the planet’s polar ice caps, researchers don’t believe that can account for all the planet’s “lost” water.

Existing theories offer a few likely scenarios for what happened to Martian water after Mars lost its atmosphere: Some hypothesize it became ice or was lost to space, while others suggest it was incorporated into minerals beneath the planet’s surface or trickled into deep aquifers.

The new findings suggest that water on Mars filtered down into the Martian crust.

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, was a stationary lander. But it collected unprecedented data about the thickness of the red planet’s crust and the temperature of its mantle, as well as the depth and composition of the core and atmosphere. The lander’s seismometer detected the first quakes on another planet, dubbed marsquakes.

While earthquakes occur when tectonic plates shift, move and grind against one another, the Martian crust is like one giant plate with faults and fractures as the planet continues to shrink and cool over time. As the Martian crust stretches, it cracks, and InSight’s seismometer was able to detect more than 1,300 marsquakes as they rumbled from hundreds and thousands of miles away.

Scientists studying InSight’s data were able to study the speed of marsquakes as they traveled through the planet, which can serve as an indicator of what substances exist beneath the Martian surface.

The speed of seismic waves depends on what the rock is made of, where it has cracks and what fills those cracks, Wright said.

The team used this data and fed it into a mathematical model of rock physics, which is used on Earth to map underground oil fields and aquifers.

The results showed that InSight’s data best matches up with a deep layer of igneous, or volcanic, rock that is filled with liquid water.

“Establishing that there is a big reservoir of liquid water provides some window into what the climate was like or could be like,” said study coauthor Michael Manga, a professor of earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkeley, in a statement.

“And water is necessary for life as we know it. I don’t see why (the underground reservoir) is not a habitable environment,” Manga added. “It’s certainly true on Earth — deep, deep mines host life, the bottom of the ocean hosts life. We haven’t found any evidence for life on Mars, but at least we have identified a place that should, in principle, be able to sustain life.”

If Mars’ crust is similar across the planet, there may be more water within the mid-crust zone than the “volumes proposed to have filled hypothesized ancient Martian oceans,” the authors wrote in the study.

Rocks help trap information about the history of a planet, and understanding the water cycle of a planet can help researchers unlock the evolution of Mars, Wright said.

While the analysis of the data can’t reveal any information about life, past or present, if it existed on Mars, it’s possible that wet Martian crust could be habitable in the same way that deep groundwater on Earth is hospitable for microbial life, he said.

But even drilling holes just half a mile (1 kilometer) or deeper on Earth is a challenge that requires energy and infrastructure, so a massive number of resources would need to be brought to Mars to drill to such depths, Wright said.

The team was surprised not to find evidence suggesting a layer of frozen groundwater beneath Insight because that portion of the crust is cold. The researchers are still trying to determine why there isn’t frozen groundwater at shallower depths above the mid-crust. (CNN)

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Doctors have recommended the public drink as much water as possible due to the prevailing dry weather conditions in the country.

They further urged to reduce exposure to sunlight during the afternoon as much as possible as well.

Workers at outdoor work sites have been recommended to take regular breaks in shaded areas every half hour.

Doctors have also advised that children be prevented from engaging in sporting activities during the afternoon. (NewsWire)

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Minister of Water Supply Jeevan Thondaman has issued a clarification to address the concerns and allegations surrounding the recent water tariff hike, explaining in detail why this measure was taken.

The Minister pointed out that the average Water Board customer consumes 13.5 units (13,500 litres) per month, which approximately results in a monthly bill of Rs. 1300 under the revised tariff.

There are no tariff increases for Samurdhi and tenement garden customers – the most vulnerable in our society. 

Due to rising costs, including electricity tariffs, raw materials, currency depreciation, and high-interest rates, the cost of providing one unit (1000 litres) of water has surged to Rs. 130 and therefore, it was no longer possible to provide clean and safe piped water to the Water Board’s customers at the previous tariff, the Minister explained.

Minister Thondaman pointed out that under the tariff hike, only consumers using more than 20 units of water a month (20,000 litres) would start paying the actual unit cost and more, while around 70% of the Water Board’s customers fall below this threshold. 

Addressing concerns that Samurdhi beneficiaries are not facing a water tariff hike as they comprise his constituency in Nuwara Eliya, the minister stated in Nuwara Eliya, water is provided by the municipal council and not the Water Board.

Outlining the future course of action, Minister Jeevan Thondaman stated that the Ministry will introduce a new tariff guideline and formula by the end of this year which will enhance transparency and accountability in the water tariff structure. 

He further stated that the Ministry is also formulating a new water safety plan, a rainwater harvesting scheme and a climate resilience roadmap to ensure a consistent supply of clean, drinking water. 

“I understand the challenges that some of you face, and I assure you that every step we take is aimed at ensuring a sustainable water supply for our country’s future. Along with this hike we are pursuing aggressive reforms in the water sector and the Water Board. This includes introducing lean management practices, setting measurable KPIs for the organisation and adopting a cost optimisation strategy to give greater value for money to consumers,” Minister Thondaman added. (NewsWire)

I want to address the concerns and allegations surrounding the recent water tariff hike for @NwsdbOfficial (Water Board) customers. I understand the impact this decision has on many of you, and I want to provide clarity and reassurance on why this step was taken.

Firstly, I… https://t.co/wFAU1U4HTQ

— Jeevan Thondaman (@JeevanThondaman) August 4, 2023

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