NWSDB’s billing blunder!

I wish to pen this article to make the public aware of inflated charges and unjust late fees with regard to the water bill. Hence customers, please stay vigilant!

There was a serious billing error by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) recently. In my February 2025 bill, I was charged an inflated amount of Rs. 26,846.80, whereas the actual payable amount, based on consumption, should have been only Rs. 3,127.00. This gross discrepancy was corrected in the April bill — but shockingly, a late payment charge of Rs. 593.00 was imposed for the non-payment of the earlier, incorrect amount of Rs. 23,719.80.

Upon contacting both the NWSDB call centre (1939) and the Colombo North regional office, I was informed that the late fee will be removed in the next billing cycle. However, such errors — and the customer effort required to rectify them — point to serious lapses in the NWSDB’s accounting accuracy and internal controls.

A word of caution to all NWSDB customers: Examine your monthly bills closely. These errors are not minor — they have real financial consequences and indicate potential systemic issues within the billing process.

Mohamed Zahran