Laxapana Dam, Gravity dam in Central Province, Sri Lanka.

Laxapana Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Maskeliya Oya river in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It forms part of a network of power stations connected by penstocks that carry water between facilities for electricity generation.

The Laxapana Dam was built across the Maskeliya Oya, 2.8 km downstream of the Laxapana Falls, in Sri Lanka's Central Province. Its reservoir is fed by the Kelani River and by water discharged from the Old and New Laxapana power stations, which belong to the Norton and Canyon dams. The Samanala Hydroelectric Power Station, with two 37.50 MW units, was commissioned in April 1969.

The dam is also called the Samanala Hydroelectric Power Station, after the reservoir it creates. Its two 37.50 MW generating units were commissioned in April 1969, and the water that drives them comes from the Kelani River and from the Old and New Laxapana stations upstream.

The dam lies on the Maskeliya Oya, 2.8 km downstream of Laxapana Falls, in Sri Lanka's Central Province. It is an operating hydroelectric facility, so access to the structure and penstocks is restricted; the reservoir and surrounding highland terrain are best viewed from public roads near the site.

The dam receives water not only from the river but also from the discharge of its own downstream power stations, which feeds back into the system. This allows the same water to be used more than once for generation before continuing downstream.