Towns East of Colombo District Water Supply Project)

Draft Initial Environmental Examination July 2013 SRI: Greater Colombo Water and Wastewater Management Improvement Investment Program (Towns East of Colombo District Water Supply Project) Prepared by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Government of Sri Lanka for the Asian Development Bank. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 11 July 2013) Currency Unit – Sri Lanka rupees (SLRs) SLRs1.00 = $0.007645 $1.00 = SLRs. 130.80 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank AP – affected person CEA – Central Environment Authority CCD – Coast Conservation Department CMC – Colombo Municipal Council DMA – district metering area EMP – environmental management plan GCWWMIIP – Greater Colombo Water and Wastewater Improvement Investment Program GN – Grama Niladhari GRC – grievance redressal committee GRM – grievance redress mechanism IEE – initial environmental examination MASC – management advisory and supervision consultant MWSD – Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage MLGPC – Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Council NRW – non-revenue water NWSDB – National Water Supply and Drainage Board O&M – operations and maintenance PMU – project management unit PPTA – project preparatory technical assistance PRO – public relations officer REA – rapid environmental assessment RSC – regional support center SPS – Safeguard Policy Statement WC – Western Central WEIGHTS AND MEASURES km – kilometer km2 – square kilometer m2 – square meter mm – millimeter m3/day – cubic meter per day NOTE{S} In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. “SLRs” and “ ” refer to Sri Lankan rupees. This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. POLICY, LEGAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 3 A. ADB Policy 3 B. National Laws 4 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 7 A. Existing Condition and Need for the Project 7 B. Implementation Schedule 9 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 9 A. Methodology Used for the Baseline Study 9 B. Physical Characteristics 10 C. Ecological Characteristics 11 D. Socioeconomic Profile 12 E. Social and Cultural Characteristics 14 V. ANTICIPATED IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 15 A. Anticipated Impacts – Planning and Design Phase 15 B. Anticipated Impacts – Construction Phase 19 C. Anticipated Impacts – Operations and Maintenance Phase 21 D. Mitigation Measures 22 E. Cumulative Impact Assessment 28 VI. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PARTICIPATION 30 A. Public Consultation Conducted 30 B. Future Consultation and Disclosure 30 VII. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 31 VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 34 A. Institutional Arrangement 34 B. Capacity Building 38 C. Environmental Management Action Plan 39 D. Reporting 57 E. Environmental Costs 57 IX. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 60 APPENDIXES: 1. ADB REA Checklist 62 2. Details of Ambatale Project Investments 65 3. Records of Public Consultations 68 4. Sample Grievance Redress Form 80 5. Outline TOR for Environment Management Specialist (MASC) 81 6. Suggested Outline for the Environmental Monitoring Report 82 7. Summary of Procedure for Obtaining Written Permission from Department of 84 Archaeology EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The Greater Colombo Water and Wastewater Management Improvement Investment Program (GCWWMIIP) will complement the past and ongoing efforts of the government to improve water supply availability and wastewater services to the residents of Greater Colombo to unleash its economic growth potential. It will also assist the government in introducing institutional and regulatory reforms in the sector. The investment program uses a multitranche financing facility (MFF) and will be implemented from 2013 to 2020. Investments under the MFF will be delivered in four projects. As per ADB’s safeguard requirements, an environmental assessment and review framework (EARF) is prepared to guide environmental assessment throughout the entire MFF period. 2. Towns east of Colombo District water supply project is one of the projects proposed in GCWWMIIP. There are 44 Community-Based Water Supply Schemes (CBWSS) within the proposed project area serving population of 16,475. Sources of supply are dug wells for these CBWSS. Due to rapid development of the area, the reliability of these sources is very low and they become totally dry during drought. The issues with present system are; poor water quality, limited supply hours, no water supply during droughts, breakdowns in pumps and poor maintenance of distribution system. ADB requires the consideration of environmental issues in all aspects of the Bank’s operations, and the requirements for environmental assessment are described in ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS, 2009). This Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) addresses components proposed under GCWWMIIP which includes water supply and sewerage components. 3. Categorization. Towns east of Colombo District water supply project is classified as Environmental Category B as per ADB SPS, 2009 as no significant impacts are envisioned. Accordingly this IEE has been prepared and assesses the environmental impacts and provides mitigation and monitoring measures to ensure no significant impacts as a result of the subproject. 4. Project Scope. The project is formulated under GCWWMIIP to address gaps in water supply infrastructure in a holistic and integrated manner. The main objective of GCWWMIIP is to improve water and wastewater service and management efficiency, security and have an important effect on public health in 6 towns east of Colombo District. Investments under this project includes: (i) rehabilitation of water supply schemes based on non-revenue water concept in TEC; and (ii) building capacity to manage and implement the project successfully. 5. Implementation Arrangements. The executing agencies are the Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage (MWSD) and the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Council (MLGPC). The implementing agencies are the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) for water supply projects and the Colombo Municipal Council for wastewater projects. Project management units (PMUs) will be established in each implementing agency. A team of senior technical, administrative and financial officials, including safeguards specialists, will assist the PMU in managing and monitoring implementation activities. Consultant teams are responsible for project planning and management and assuring technical quality of design and construction; and designing the infrastructure and supervising construction; and safeguards preparation. 6. Description of the Environment. Project components are located in 6 towns east of Colombo District urban areas or in its immediate surroundings which were converted into ii agricultural or urban use for many years ago, and there is no natural habitat left at these sites. The sites, except for the ground reservoir, are located in existing right of ways (RoWs). The site for the ground reservoir will be acquired by the government from a private owner. 7. 1 There are no protected areas, wetlands, mangroves, or estuaries in or near the subproject location. There are no forest areas within or near Davanagere. Soils are deep, and do not require cutting of rocks for pipe laying. There are no protected, wetlands, mangroves, or estuaries in or near the project location. Pipe alignments will not pass through protected areas and forests. Soils are deep, and do not require cutting of rocks for pipe laying. 8. Environmental Management. An environmental management plan (EMP) is included as part of this IEE, which includes (i) mitigation measures for environmental impacts during implementation; (ii) an environmental monitoring program, and the responsible entities for mitigating, monitoring, and reporting; (iii) public consultation and information disclosure; and (iv) a grievance redress mechanism. A number of impacts and their significance have already been reduced by amending the designs. The EMP will be included in civil work bidding and contract documents. 9. Locations and siting of the proposed infrastructures were considered to further reduce impacts. These include (i) laying of pipes in RoWs alongside main/access roads, to reduce acquisition of land along the pipe alignment; and (ii) keeping the footprint of the ground reservoir to the minimum possible extent to avoid the need for large land acquisition. 10. Potential impacts were identified in relation to location, design, construction and operation of the improved infrastructure. Planning principles and design considerations have been reviewed and incorporated into the site planning process whenever possible. Various design-related measures suggested for the water treatment plant are: energy efficiency design, automation and Improvement to existing telemetry system, and sludge treatment and disposal system. 11. During the construction phase, impacts mainly arise from the need to dispose of moderate quantities of waste soil and disturbance of residents, businesses, and traffic. Mitigation measures have been developed in generic way to reduce all negative impacts to acceptable levels. These are common impacts

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