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Demand for water in Kigali may result in rationing

Tuesday September 18 2018
water

Statistics from WASAC show that the country still has to connect to clean water close to 335,306 new households in rural areas. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA

By JOHNSON KANAMUGIRE

Increased water demand may result in rationing in the coming months.

Besides, huge water losses linked to leakages due to old distribution network and illegal connections have also been cited as contributing factors to water shortage.

The latest statistics released by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (Rura) show that despite the number of water subscribers in rural and urban areas having increased considerably this year, the quantity of water produced declined.

This has resulted in water rationing, with households and commercial entities mostly affected.

For instance, the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) — the national water utility body — saw quantity of water it produces decline by 153,245 cubic metres to 11,840,925 cubic metres from December 2017.

However, WASAC chief executive officer Aime Muzora, told Rwanda Today the decline was as a result of power black outs that affected production at some plants and floods that rendered river waters untreatable at most stations.

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“It is not that capacity of our plants has decreased, however, efforts are being made to bring production back to maximum levels,” he said.

Decline

Trend in WASAC water production in quarter one of this year compared with the same period last year, show a decline in water produced at key treatment plants — Kimisagara (382 432 cubic metres), Nzove (36 071 cubic metres), Mutobo (18 851 cubic metres) and Kadahokwa (28 982 cubic metres).

The overall decline when combined with over 4,774, 172 cubic metres registered water loss left the company with 7,066,753 cubic metres to serve its increasing number of clients, having jumped from 205,187 customers in the fourth quarter of the year 2017 to 219,185 as at the end of March 2018.

According to the statistics, WASAC incurred a loss of 4,464,605 cubic metres due to meter bursts, leakages and illegal connections, representing 38.7 per cent of the total supplied water while another 309,567 m3 loss was due to back washing and network flushing.

This scenario shared with rural water supply operators had a bearing on the water supply services amid a huge unmet demand.

Rural water supply companies registered subscriber rise from 24,285 to 27,934 customers as at March 2018.

The regulator’s report did not capture their water production statuses but most decried difficulty coping with the rising demand for the utility due to limited and unmaintained supply infrastructure.

“Most water stations were built to serve a certain number of users but now demand is way beyond their capacity. There is a need for urgent rehabilitation and extension,” said Callixte Haguma, manager of REDEC, a company involved in rural water supply.

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