The following page lists most dams in Sri Lanka. Most of these dams are governed by the Mahaweli Authority, while the Ceylon Electricity Board operates dams used for hydroelectric power generation. Hydroelectric dams, including small hydros accounts for nearly half of the installed power capacity of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is pockmarked with many irrigation dams with its water resource distributed across nearly the entirety of the island for agricultural purposes via artificial canals and streams. Utilization of hydro resources for agricultural production dates back to the pre-Colonial era, with the current crop production now largely dependent on these water resources.
Irrigation dams with a length and height of more than 100m (300feet) and 10m (30feet) are listed, including all the state-run hydroelectric power stations. Privately owned "small-hydro" facilities (which are limited to a maximum nameplate capacity of), are not included in this list. Nearly all hydroelectric dams are also used for providing water resource for irrigation purposes, hence for the sake of identifying the hydroelectric dams, any dam with hydroelectric involvement is stated as such in the below table, even if the primary purpose of building the dam is to retain water for irrigation.
| Dam | Location | Purpose | Length (m) | Height (m) | Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowatenna | Hydroelectricity | 226 | 30 | 40 | Gravity | ||
| Broadlands | Hydroelectricity | 114 | 24 | 35 | Gravity | [1] | |
| Canyon | Hydroelectricity | 100 | |||||
| Castlereigh | Hydroelectricity | 50 | Gravity | ||||
| Deduru Oya | Hydroelectricity | 2,400 | 20 | 1.5 | Embankment | [2] | |
| Dyraaba | Hydroelectricity | 165 | 50 | 120 | Gravity | [3] | |
| Gal Oya | Hydroelectricity | 1,100 | 43 | 12 | Embankment | ||
| Inginimitiya | Irrigation | 4,880 | 18 | N/A | Embankment | ||
| Kalu Ganga | Irrigation | 546 | 67 | N/A | Gravity | ||
| Kandalama | Irrigation | 1,600 | 21 | N/A | Embankment | ||
| Kantale | Irrigation | 4,200 | 15 | N/A | Embankment | ||
| Kotmale | Hydroelectricity | 600 | 87 | 201 | Gravity | ||
| Kukule Ganga | Hydroelectricity | 110 | 20 | 80 | Gravity | ||
| Laxapana | Hydroelectricity | 75 | Gravity | ||||
| Lower Malvathu Oya | Irrigation | [4] | |||||
| Lunugamwehera | Irrigation | N/A | Embankment | ||||
| Maduru Oya | Irrigation | 1,090 | 41 | N/A | Embankment | ||
| Maskeliya | Hydroelectricity | 60 | Gravity | ||||
| Moragahakanda | Hydroelectricity | 65 | 25 | Gravity | |||
| Moragolla | Hydroelectricity | 35 | 30 | [5] | |||
| Norton | Hydroelectricity | 50 | Gravity | ||||
| Nilambe | Hydroelectricity | 70 | 3.2 | Gravity | |||
| Polgolla | Hydroelectricity | 144 | 14.6 | 40 | Gravity | ||
| Puhulpola | Irrigation | 175 | 45 | NA | Gravity | ||
| Rajanganaya | Irrigation | N/A | Embankment | ||||
| Randenigala | Hydroelectricity | 485 | 94 | 126 | Embankment | ||
| Rambakan Oya | Irrigation | 1225 | 24.7 | N/A | Embankment | ||
| Rantembe | Hydroelectricity | 420 | 42 | 52 | Gravity | ||
| Ratkinda | Irrigation | 4,960 | 25 | N/A | Embankment | [6] | |
| Samanala | Hydroelectricity | 530 | 110 | 124 | Embankment | ||
| Udawalawe | Hydroelectricity | 3,900 | 6 | Embankment | |||
| Ulhitiya | Irrigation | N/A | Embankment | ||||
| Upper Kotmale | Hydroelectricity | 180 | 35 | 150 | Gravity | ||
| Victoria | Hydroelectricity | 520 | 122 | 210 | Arch | ||