The first mention of the canals along the western seaboard of Sri Lanka was in the 8th century, when the Persian geographer, Abu Zayd al-Balkhi reported a voyage lasting weeks along the 'Gobbs of Serendib', the Arabian term for the linked lagoons along the coast.

[1][2] Six centuries later the King of Kotte, Veera Parakramabahu VIII (1477–1496), had a network of canals constructed connecting outlying villages with Colombo and Negombo Lagoon[3] so that produce such as areca nuts, cloves, cardamom, pepper and cinnamon, could be more easily transported to the kingdom’s main seaport at Negombo.

They then attempted to grow paddy rice in the surrounding marshes in Muthurajawela, but found that—as the previous Sinhalese kings had before them—the coastal tides inundated the fields with sea water.

Between 1658 and 1795, the Dutch undertook the construction of a series of structures, dams and canals using and enhancing the original system of waterways in an attempt to drain the salt water from the rice fields and to transport cinnamon in barges through to the seaport at Negombo.

[6] In 1796 the British took control of the island and in 1802 a new Colombo-Negombo canal was built, conceived by George Atkinson, the Colonial Surveyor General and supported by Gavin Hamilton (1494–1803), the Government Agent of Revenue and Commerce.

[6] In 2012 the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation commenced work rehabilitating and restoring the canal.