The Dam Safety Water Resources Planning Project (DSWRPP) is a multi-faceted five year project initiated by Ministry of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services (MADAS) with Ministry of Irrigation. Initially MADAS was the executing ministry now superseded by the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management –MIWRM, with financial assistance of International Development Agency (IDA) World Bank to reduce the risks and vulnerability of downstream population to hazards from major dams and ensure safety procedures in place.
The project comprises of two broad development objectives: namely –
a. establishing long-term sustainable arrangements for O&M of large dams; and
b. improving water resources planning.
The major focus and investments set out to achieve these two broader long term development goals within a period of five years. Towards this end investments made under three major components – i. Improving dam safety and operational efficiency; ii. Upgrading and modernizing the existing hydro-meteorological information systems; and c. Providing technical assistance for developing national water use master plan and integrated water resources plans.
This assignment – Mid Term Evaluation (MTE) provided the opportunity to the Government of Sri Lanka and the WB to collectively re-examine the project during the mid course of it implementation to make adjustments as necessary. The national significance of DSWRPP lies in its two expected outcomes; (i) mainstreaming and establishing institutional arrangements for sustainable dam safety management and strong technical basis for sustainable O&M and management of major dams in Sri Lanka in general and high risk dams in particular; and (ii) water resources planning leading to the development of a National Water Use Plan (NWUP) and two basin level water resources development plans.
