Water supply and sanitation in Uganda

Uganda Uganda Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by... : Water and Sanitation

Data
Water coverage (broad definition)	60%
Sanitation coverage (broad definition)	43%
Continuity of supply (%)	20–24 hours per day in large towns
Average urban water use (l/c/d)	44
Average urban water tariff (US$/m³)	0.64
Share of household metering	99% in large towns (2006)
Annual investment in WSS	US$2.37 per capita
Share of self-financing by utilities	Low
Share of tax-financing	Low
Share of external financing	High
Institutions
Decentralization to municipalities	Since 1997: To districts Districts of Uganda Uganda is divided into 111 districts and one city across four administrative regions. Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative towns.... , towns and sub-counties Sub-counties of Uganda \|\|The counties of Uganda are divided into sub-counties, which are further divided into parishes and villages. The head elected official in a district is the Chairperson of the Local Council V.-References:subcounties...
National water and sanitation company	National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), in large towns
Water and sanitation regulator	None
Responsibility for policy setting	Ministry of Water and Environment
Sector law	None
Number of urban service providers	n/a
Number of rural service providers	n/a

The Ugandan water supply and sanitation sector has made spectacular progress in urban areas since the mid-1990s, with substantial increases in coverage as well as in operational and commercial performance. Sector reforms in the period 1998-2003 included the commercialization and modernization of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) operating in cities and larger towns, as well as decentralization and private sector participation in small towns.
These reforms have attracted significant international attention. However, 40% of the population still had no access to an improved water source

Improved water source

According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" water sources:* household connections* public standpipes* boreholes* protected dug wells...

and 57% had no improved sanitation

Improved sanitation

According to the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" sanitation:* connection to a public sewer* connection to a septic system* pour-flush latrine...

in 2004. Low access to urban sanitation and wastewater treatment, compared to the progress achieved on urban water supply, is an area of concern.

The water and sanitation sector has been recognized as a key area under the 2004 Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), Uganda's main strategy paper to fight poverty. A comprehensive expenditure framework has been introduced to coordinate financial support by external donors, the national government, and NGOs. The PEAP estimates that from 2001 to 2015, about US$1.4 billion, or US$92 million per year, are needed to increase water supply coverage up to 95%.

Access

Access to an improved water source increased from 44% in 1990 to 60% in 2004. At the same time, sanitation coverage has increased slightly from 42% to 43%. Generally, coverage in rural areas, where 88% of the population lives, is lower than in urban areas. The most common technology options for rural water supply are protected springs

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

, boreholes, protected wells, and gravity flow schemes. Those who do not have access to an improved source of water supply have to rely on unsafe sources such as rivers, lakes, and unprotected wells. One indicator of poor access and/or quality is that water-borne diseases have been identified as the main cause of infant mortality

Infant mortality

Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...

Access to Water and Sanitation in Uganda (2004)
		Urban (12% of the population)	Rural (88% of the population)	Total
Water	Broad definition Improved water source According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" water sources:* household connections* public standpipes* boreholes* protected dug wells...	87%	56%	60%
Water	House connections	7%	0%	1%
Sanitation	Broad definition Improved sanitation According to the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" sanitation:* connection to a public sewer* connection to a septic system* pour-flush latrine...	54%	41%	43%
Sanitation	Sewerage	41%	0%	5%

According to the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), access to functioning water sources varies considerably among districts, from 12% to 95%. The national government aims to reach universal water supply and sanitation coverage in urban areas and 77% water supply and 95% sanitation coverage by 2015. The latter definition is different from that of the Joint Monitoring Program for Water and Sanitation of WHO

Who

Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...

and UNICEF, used above, which complicates the monitoring of targets for access.

The number of people defecating in the open has fallen substantially between 2000 and 2008, although the government provides no subsidies for the construction of latrines.

Continuity of supply

According to Maxwell Stamp PLC, in Kampala

Kampala

Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...

, the capital, those who receive piped water supply were usually supplied continuously for 24 hours per day in 2003. In other towns, most customers were supplied on more than five days per week. The MWE indicated in 2006 that piped water in large towns is usually available for 20–24 hours per day.

Drinking water quality

Under the fourth Water and Sanitation Sector Performance Assessment, based on analyses by several subsectors and NGOs carried out in 2006, it was found that 90% and 95% of the water samples taken from protected and treated water supplies, respectively, met national standards for drinking water quality. This assessment comprised both rural and urban water supply.

Wastewater treatment

According to the official website of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), which is responsible for water supply and sanitation in 23 urban towns, the utility operates two conventional sewage treatment plants, one for Kampala and another in Masaka

Masaka

Masaka is a town in Central Uganda, lying west of Lake Victoria. It is the chief town of Masaka District. Besides being the headquarters of Masaka District, the town is the regional headquarters and largest metropolitan area in Lyantonde District, Sembabule District, Lwengo District, Bukomansimbi...

, which both carry out primary and secondary treatment. If its quality complies with the national environmental standards, the treated sewage effluent is then discharged into an artificial or constructed wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

or directly into the environment. Wetland

Wetland

s contribute substantially to wastewater treatment. For example, the Nakivubo wetland in Kampala is estimated to contribute about US$1.7 million per year to the Ugandan economy, serving as a tertiary wastewater treatment plant.

In smaller towns NWSC operates 21 sewage stabilization ponds

Stabilization pond

Stabilization pond technology - sometimes also called facultative pond technology - is a natural method for wastewater treatment.-Technology:Stabilization ponds consist of shallow man-made basins comprising a single or several series of anaerobic, facultative or maturation ponds...

. According to the MWE, an analysis of municipal effluents carried out in July 2008 revealed that NWSC's wastewater treatment facilities mostly do not meet national standards. Out of 223 data sets, 12% complied with Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Biochemical oxygen demand

Biochemical oxygen demand or B.O.D. is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. The term also refers to a chemical procedure for...

standards, 26% with Phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

standards and 40% with total suspended solids

Suspended solids

Suspended solids refers to small solid particles which remain in suspension in water as a colloid or due to the motion of the water. It is used as one indicator of water quality....

standards. This leads to the pollution of water bodies from which in turn raw water is extracted. In a few cases sewage is disposed directly into the environment without any treatment. The lack of functioning wastewater treatment poses a threat on the environment and human health.

Water resources

As a whole, Uganda has more than enough freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

. Estimates indicate 66 km³ of renewable water resources per year, which correspond to approximately 2,800 m³ per person and year. However, the distribution of the resource is uneven both in spatial and temporal terms. Furthermore, freshwater is increasingly exploited through population growth

Population growth

Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....

, urbanization

Urbanization

Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....

, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, and industrialization.

The rivers, lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

s and wetlands cover about 18% of Uganda's total surface, including Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

's largest lake and one of the major sources of the Nile River

Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...

, the longest river of the world. Almost the entire country lies within the Nile basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

. Rainfall contributes most to the country's surface

Surface water

Surface water is water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean; it is related to water collecting as groundwater or atmospheric water....

and groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

. The average annual rainfall ranges from 900 mm in the semi-arid

Semi-arid

A semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely...

areas of Kotido

Kotido

Kotido is a town in Northern Uganda. It is the chief municipal, administrative and commercial center of Kotido District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town.-Location:...

to 2000 mm on the Sese Islands in Lake Victoria. There is a lack of groundwater recharge assessments in Uganda, which is why the potential of groundwater is not known. However, regional assessments in Ugandan towns have indicated that groundwater recharge meets the current abstraction volumes. In order to monitor the quantity and quality of groundwater and surface water, the National Water Resources network has been established under the responsibility of the Water Resources Management Department (WRMD).

The water level in Lake Victoria has been receding with manifold consequences, including the need for additional investments to extend the water intakes supplying the cities of Kampala, Entebbe

Entebbe

Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...

and Jinja

Jinja, Uganda

Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...

. Between 2003 and 2006 the lake has lost 75 billion cubic meters, about 3% of its volume. The causes of the decline are disputed. According to some reports it is due to a 10-15% decline in rainfall in the lake's basin. However, according to Daniel Kull, a hydrologist with the UN's International Strategy for Disaster Reduction in Nairobi, the drought would have caused only half the water loss actually seen if two hydroelectric dams at the outlet of the Lake into the White Nile

White Nile

The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...

had been operated during the past two years according to an agreement from the 1950s on the Nile flows between Uganda and Egypt.

Water use

According to the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), water use in rural areas ranges between 12 and 14 liters per capita and day (l/p/d). In urban towns and centers with a population of more than 5,000 people, the PEAP estimates an average of less than 17 l/p/d. The national target is to reach an average consumption of 20 l/p/d. According to the NWSC's annual report, the utilities' total water production from July 2007 to June 2008 (fiscal year 2007/2008) for 23 towns was 63.6 million m³, of which more than three quarters or 79% were produced in Kampala. 46.9% or 29.8 million m³ of NWSC's total water was used by domestic customers. Divided by the 1,944,741 people whom NWSC served at the end of June 2008, this corresponds to 15.3 m³ per capita and year or 44 l/p/d.

History and recent developments

The first piped water systems were completed during the colonial period in the 1930s. Water-borne sewerage was introduced after 1937. The construction of new facilities increased from 1950 to 1965 under the framework of large national development programs. Later, the existing systems were partly maintained and no new facilities were constructed until 1990. According to a UN-Water

UN-Water

UN-Water is a mechanism of the United Nations, endorsed in 2003 for the follow-up process of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. Its purpose is to support states in their water-related efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals....

document, by 1990 the urban water infrastructure served less than 10% of the population in large towns. Around the end of the 1980s, international donors began to invest substantial financial resources to rehabilitate and renew the water network in Kampala. For example, the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

contributed US$60 million under the Water Supply Project, which was active from 1990 to 1998 (see below). Although the financial support helped to rehabilitate the infrastructure, the commercial performance of NWSC was still unsatisfactory.

The reform of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation

Description of the reform process The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) was created as a government-owned parastatal organization in 1972 under the national administration of Idi Amin Dada, serving only the capital Kampala

Kampala

as well as Entebbe

Entebbe

Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...

and Jinja

Jinja, Uganda

Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...

. Subsequently its service area gradually grew to incorporate large and mid-sized towns all over Uganda, reaching a total of 23 cities and towns in 2008.

In 1995 and 2000, it was reorganized under the NWSC Statute and NWSC Act, giving it substantial operational autonomy and the mandate to operate and provide water and sewerage in areas entrusted to it, on a sound, commercial, and viable basis. Internal reforms at NWSC started in 1998, beginning with a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis initiated by a new management team. At that time, the utility benefitted from a recently rehabilitated water and sewerage infrastructure including abundant water production capacity and a high level of metering, a competent senior management team, and a good and enabling water legislative framework providing NWSC with relative autonomy. On the other hand, NWSC was in bad condition with regard to operational and financial aspects. For example, non-revenue water

Non-revenue water

Non revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses or apparent losses . High levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself...

, water which is produced but not billed for several reasons such as leakage and illegal connections, stood at 60%. The utility was heavily overstaffed and staff costs accounted for 64% of the total operating costs.

In late 1998, the national government appointed Dr. William Tsimwa Muhairwe as the Managing Director of NWSC. He had been managing public companies in Uganda and elsewhere. Under a new board, more emphasis was placed on commercial viability. At the same time, political interference within the utility was reduced. The new management soon drew up several programs to implement the principles, the first of which was the 100-days program, aiming to adjust operational and financial inefficiencies.

Programs to improve financial and operational efficiency of NWSC
Program	Objective(s)	Measures	Time of implementation
100-days program	Reverse of operational and financial inefficiencies	Improved revenue collection and cost-cutting measures	February 1999-May 1999
Service and revenue enhancement program	Restoring customer confidence	Introduction of service centers and help desks, customer surveys	August 1999-August 2000
Area and service performance contracts	Commercial sustainability	Managers were given more autonomy and liability through performance contracts	2000–2003
Stretch-out program	Improving team work	More staff involvement, flatter hierarchical structure	2002–2003
One-minute management program	Individual performance accountability	Incentives for achievements of individual goals	2003
Internally-delegated area management contracts (IDAMCs)	Increasing autonomy and liability of area managers	Internal contracts including explicit targets and incentives	Since 2003

Since 2000, NWSC has worked under performance contracts with the national government, each covering three years. The contracts contain precise performance indicators, which the NWSC is expected to achieve. For example, the 2003-2006 contract required NWSC to reduce NRW from 39% in 2003 to 36% in 2006. Simultaneously, inactive connections should be reduced from 21% to 13%. In order to encourage management to achieve the targets, an incentive element of 25% of the annual basic salary depended on the fulfillment of the contract. Each year the NWSC board decides the appropriate bonus rate that the NWSC management receives.

Results and analysis The improvement of the utility concerning access and operational performance is indisputable. Some of the achievements are:

Performance indicators for NWSC (1998–2007)
	1998	2000	2004	2007	2008
Operating profit before depreciation (EBDIT EBDIT EBDIT is an initialism or acronym for Earnings Before Depreciation, Interest and Taxes.Some people find it useful to know this value for a business. On the other hand, some businesses may emphasize this value in publicity or reports to investors, instead of the GAAP or other standard earnings or... ) (USh bn)	1.5	3.0	11.0	18.0
Non-revenue water Non-revenue water Non revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses or apparent losses . High levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself...	51%	43%	38%	33%	33.5%
Collection efficiency	60%	76%	98%	92%	92%
Connections	51,000	59,000	100,000	181,000	202,000
Employees	1784	1454	949	1388
Labor productivity (Employees/1,000 connections)	35	25	9	8

Interestingly, the utility has been turned around without a tariff increase, except for inflation adjustments and a 10% increase to compensate the utility for a reduction in connection fees. Instead, the reform focused on increasing the number of connections, an effective computerized billing system, improving customer relations and communications, as well as better incentives and training for staff.

One factor that partially explains the drastically improved collection rates is a new government policy of paying the unpaid water bills of public entities, beginning in 1999. The significant increase in new connections is partially explained by a drastic reduction of connection charges, also in 1999, from 400,000 Shillings (US$ 274) to 25,000 Shillings (US$ 17). Flexibility in technical requirements (waiving of land title
requirements, easing construction standards, post-processing of new connection
forms) was also key to increasing water service coverage in the urban poor communities. Schwartz points out that the success of NWSC since 1998 was favored by a high level of support by international donors and lending agencies as well as national ministries, the leadership of top management, a highly professional staff, and strong institutional cultures.

NWSC has received ISO 9001:2000 certification for fourteen of its service areas, including Kampala, by June 2008. The company also provides training to utilities in Tanzania, Zambia and soon in Nigeria. Building on its success, NWSC has set itself the vision "to be one of the leading water utilities in the world".

Towards the end of 2008, NWSC management introduced another management initiative codenamed, the "Raving Water Fans" aimed at improving customer service and, in the long run, willingness to pay and revenues. The initiative is based on a concept developed Raving Fans by the management expert Ken Blanchard

Ken Blanchard

Kenneth Hartley Blanchard is an American author and management expert. His book The One Minute Manager has sold over 13 million copies and has been translated into 37 languages...

and Sheldon Bowles

Kingdomality

Kingdomality is a vocational placement system created in 1990 by vocational psychologist Richard Silvano. When he and his two daughters were playing with a Playmobil castle and Klicky figures, Silvano was inspired to fashion a short personality test by translating Playmobil and Klicky figures into...

that emphasizes "the 3Ds": Deciding what you want, Discovering what the customer wants and Delivering plus 1% of what the customer expects.

Legal framework

The current institutional sector framework is based on several policy reforms in the water sector since the mid-1990s. Water supply and sanitation are recognized as key issues under the national Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), prepared first in 1997 and revised in 2001 and 2004. The PEAP is the key government document for fighting poverty through rapid economic development and social transformation.

The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda instructs the Ugandan State to take all practical measures to promote a good water management system at all levels and defines clean and safe water as one of its 29 objectives. The current legislative water sector framework was introduced with the 1995 Water Statute, which has the following objectives:

Promotion of rational water use and management
Promotion of the provision of a clean, safe, and sufficient domestic water supply to all people
Promotion of the orderly development of water and its use for other purposes, such as irrigation and industrial use, among others, in ways that minimize harmful effects to the environment
Pollution control and promotion of safe storage, treatment, discharge, and disposal of waste that may cause water pollution or other threats to the environment and human health.

In accordance with the national constitution, chapter eleven, the Local Government Act of 1997 provides for the decentralization of services, including the operation and maintenance of water facilities for local governments in liaison with the ministries responsible for the sector.

Finally, the National Water Policy (NWP), adopted in 1999, promotes the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management

Integrated Water Resources Management

Integrated Water Resources Management has been defined by the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership as "a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land...

, a comprehensive approach to water supply. In addition, the NWP recognizes the economic value of water, promotes the participation of all stakeholders, including women and the poor, in all stages of water supply and sanitation, and confirms the right of all Ugandans to safe water.

Policy and regulation

The lead agency for formulating national water and sanitation policies, coordinating and regulating the sector is the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE). The Directorate of Water Development (DWD) under the MWE acts as the executive arm and provides support to local governments and other service providers.

Economic and performance regulation. There is no independent economic regulatory body for water supply. Tariffs are proposed by NWSC and need to be approved by MWE. NWSC is regulated by contract according to a performance contract with the national government. The Performance Review Committee (PRC) under the MWE reviews the performance of NWSC according to the contract. However, the PRC is partly financed by the NWSC, which may hinder the full independence of the committee.

NWSC regulates its local branch offices through internal contracts that are monitored by its internal monitoring and regulation department.

Environmental regulation. Environmental regulation is carried out by the DWD and the National Environment Management Authority.

Drinking water quality regulation. According to Schwartz, the Directorate of Water Development (DWD) is expected to monitor the quality of drinking water provided by NWRC. However, in practice NWRC monitors its drinking water quality internally without any complementary external monitoring.

NWSC's internal Quality Control Department examines whether the supplied water complies with the national standards for drinking water, which in turn follow the World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

guidelines. There are a central laboratory in Kampala and satellite laboratories in the other NWSC operation areas. At several sampling points, water is controlled for pH

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...

, color, turbidity

Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality....

, residue chlorine

Chlorine

Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...

and E. coli

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...

. The results are available at the official NWSC website and mostly comply with the national standards.

Where NWSC does not provide the service, districts are responsible for water quality monitoring. According to the MWE, this is done insufficiently and data are scarce.

Service provision

Cities and towns. In 22 cities and large towns water supply and sewerage - where it exists - is provided by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), a public utility working on a commercial basis. In 2007 it provided services to 1.8 million people out of 2.5 million in Kampala

Kampala

, Jinja

Jinja, Uganda

Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...

/Lugazi

Lugazi

Lugazi is a town in Buikwe District, in Central Uganda. The town is also called Kawolo, and the two names are interchangeably used by the local inhabitants.-Location:...

, Entebbe

Entebbe

Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...

, Tororo

Tororo

Tororo is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Tororo District. The district was named after the town.-Location:...

, Mbale

Mbale

Mbale is a city in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municiplal, administrative and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region. The district is named after the town.-Location:...

, Lira

Lira, Uganda

Lira is a city in Northern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial centre of Lira District. Lira was the main metropolitan center of the now defunct Lango District ....

, Gulu

Gulu

Gulu is a city in Northern Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The city is located at 2˚46'48N 32˚18'00E, on the metre gauge railway from Tororo to Pakwach. Gulu is located approximately , by road, north of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city...

, Masaka

Masaka

, Mbarara

Mbarara

Mbarara is a town in Western Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Mbarara District and the location of the district headquarters. It is also the largest urban centre in Western Uganda.-Location:...

, Kabale

Kabale

Kabale is a city in Western Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Kabale District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town.-Location:...

, Kasese

Kasese

Kasese is a town in Western Uganda, lying north of Lake George. It originally grew around the copper mine at Kilembe, while attention later turned to cobalt mining. It is the 'chief town' of Kasese District and the district headquarters are located there...

and Fort Portal

Fort Portal

Fort Portal is a town in Western Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and Toro Kingdom.-Location:Fort Portal is located approximately by road, west of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city, on an all-tarmac two-lane highway...

, Bushenyi

Bushenyi

Bushenyi is a town in Western Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Bushenyi District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town, in keeping with the practice in most of the districts in the country.-Location:...

/Ishaka

Ishaka

Ishaka is a town in south-western Uganda. It is one of the municipalities in Bushenyi District.-Location:Ishaka is located in Igara County, Bushenyi District, in Western Uganda. It is located approximately , by road, west of Mbarara, the largest city in the sub-region...

, Soroti

Soroti

Soroti is the main municipal, commercial and administrative centre of Soroti District in Eastern Uganda, lying near Lake Kyoga. It is known for the rock formation near the town as well as a variety of Muslim mosques, Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras as well as several churches that meet in various...

Arua

Arua is a town in Arua District, Northern Uganda. An important local commercial centre, it is a base for a large refugee population from Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is an aid distribution centre for those nations.-Location:...

, Masindi

Masindi

Masindi is a town in Western Uganda, which lies on the road from Kampala to the Murchison Falls National Park. It is the 'chief town' of the Masindi District and the district headquarters are located there...

, Malaba

Malaba

Malaba may refer to:*Malaba, Kenya, a town in Teso District, western Kenya, on the border with Uganda*Malaba, Uganda, a town in Tororo District, eastern Uganda on the border with Kenya*Malaba, Ngounié, Gabon*Malaba, Nyanga, Gabon*Malaba, Cameroon...

, Iganga

Iganga

.Iganga is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Iganga District and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town.-Location:...

, Hoima

Hoima

Hoima is a town in Western Uganda. It is main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Hoima District in Uganda. It is also the location of the palace of the Omukama of Bunyoro.-Location:...

, and Mubende

Mubende

Mubende is a town in Central Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Mubende District and is the location of the district headquarters. Mubende is the sister city of Tumwater, Washington, USA.-Location:...

. The smallest town served, Hoima, has a population of only 9,000. The NWSC operates under the MWE.

Small towns. In small towns with a population between 5,000 and 30,000, facilities are owned and managed by local governments, supported by the MWE. Many have created Water Authorities, which contract out water services under 3-year contracts to local private operators since about 2000. By 2010, these operators number 80 and serve 35,000 connections. The Association of Private Water Operators (APWO) says that the contracts are too short to compensate the small, local private operators for their initial efforts in setting up their operations. Nevertheless, the small operators have been fairly successful and the government plans to give them a chance to bid for larger urban centers that are served by the NWSC, as well as to extend the contract duration to 5 years.

In rural areas, local governments at district levels are responsible for the adequate operation and maintenance of water systems. Responsibility for sanitation promotion and hygiene education in communities and schools is vested in the MWE, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education and Sports.

Private sector participation

Cities and large towns Besides its performance contracts with the national government and its internal contracts beginning in 2000, NWSC also had two consecutive service contracts for billing and collection (called "management contracts") with foreign companies in Kampala. The first management contract between NWSC and the German company H.P. Gauff Ingenieure started in July 1998 and ended in June 2001. The second contract with the French company OSUL (Ondeo Services Uganda Limited) ran from February 2002 and February 2004. Under both contracts, NWSC's financial and operational indicators continued to improve. However, a study by the Boston Institute for Developing Economies concludes that the improvements were not due to private sector participation, but to overall reforms of NWSC initiated before the service contracts were signed and continued while they were being implemented.

Small towns UN-Water indicates management contracts with private operators in 50 small Ugandan towns. Since the sector still receives subsidies from the national government, the service improved notably without being accompanied by major tariff increases.

In rural areas, mostly local private operators focus on construction, supply of parts and materials, capacity building, and consultancy. Danert et al. concluded in 2003 that private participation in the rural Ugandan water sector still faces major challenges such as inexperienced local governments and private operators, limited public spending, and poor user participation. However, he saw an improvement in the performance of private sector participation compared to three years before, which may give rise to optimism.

Other functions

Besides the MWE, several other national ministries play a role in the sector. The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development coordinates funding and donor support. The Ministry of Local Government is expected to support decentralized government systems, which manage their own water facilities. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is responsible for the promotion of gender-responsive development and community mobilization. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries oversees water use for irrigation.

Concerning sanitation, the Environmental Health Division (EHD) under the Ministry of Health is in charge of an integrated sanitation strategy for the country, and the Ministry of Education and Sports is responsible for health, sanitation, and hygiene in schools. All the abovementioned ministries, together with the Ministry of Public Service, development partners, and civil society, form the Water and Sanitation Sector Working Group, which meets quarterly.

Economic efficiency

As described above, the NWSC has substantially improved its operational and financial performance since it was reformed. Indicators show that economic efficiency is also improving in small towns, where the systems are owned by local governments. However, it is difficult to find data on the issue in rural areas.

Non-revenue water

According to the NWSC, the average share of NRW in all operating areas of NWSC was 32.5% as of June 2007. While in Kampala it was 38.5%, in the other 21 towns it averaged 18.2%. The NWSC explains the high share of NRW in Kampala with the poor condition of the existing infrastructure. To improve the network and thus reduce NRW in Kampala, the Kampala Network Rehabilitation Project was launched in 2002. Although NRW increased from fiscal years 2005/2006 to 2006/2007, in the longer term a remarkable reduction took place. In 2002-2003, the share was 44.5% in Kampala and 26.7% in the remaining areas. Concerning small towns, the MWE in its 2006 sector performance report indicates that NRW decreased slightly from 24.4% in June 2004 to 22% in June 2006.

There is no agreement on appropriate levels of NRW among professionals. However, Tynan and Kingdom propose a best practice

Best practice

A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...

target of 23% in developing countries. Except for Kampala, NRW in large and small Ugandan towns, according to the available figures, complies with this target.

Labor productivity

In 1998, on average 36 NWSC employees worked per 1,000 connections. This figure has been significantly reduced to 11 employees in 2003 and 7 in 2007. The MWE indicates an improvement of labor productivity in small towns from 47 employees per 1,000 connections in June 2004 to 28 in June 2006. Tynan and Kingdom propose a best practice target of 5 employees per 1,000 connections in developing countries.

Tariffs and cost recovery

Although Uganda's official policy is to promote tariffs that cover all costs, the NWSC tariff actually only covers operation and maintenance costs. The second performance contract between the Government of Uganda and NWSC provides for a tariff policy which in the long term covers operation, maintenance, and a part of the future investments. Although the current tariff structure does recover operation and maintenance costs, the tariffs are not high enough to finance system expansion, leaving system improvement and extension investments to the national government and international donors. According to UN-Water, full cost recovery tariffs including investments would require a significant rise of tariffs. Dr. Muhairwe in a presentation held in 2006 concludes that full cost recovery in least developed countries

Least Developed Countries

Least developed country is the name given to a country which, according to the United Nations, exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world...

is a myth. According to him, tariffs would have to increase by 90% to provide full cost recovery.

In fiscal year 2006-2007, the NWSC tariff for domestic use was US$0.64 per m³. Taken from a public standpipe, the tariff was US$0.42 per m³ or less than US$0.01 per jerrycan

Jerrycan

A jerrycan is a robust fuel container originally made from pressed steel. It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to hold 20 litres of fuel. The development of the Jerrycan was a huge improvement on earlier designs, which required tools and funnels to use.-Uses:Today similar...

. The average commercial tariff was US$1.00 per m³. For commercial users, a rising block tariff structure is used. If a customer is connected to the sewerage system, an additional charge of 75-100% must be paid. Although water is cheapest at standpipes, UN-Water reports that in this case users usually have to pay the costs of operating a stand tap and thus in the end pay more. A cross subsidy arrangement enables NWSC to keep in operation systems which do not even cover operation and maintenance costs.

Investment and financing

Investment needs to reach 95% access to water supply in 2015 are estimated at US$100 million per year, only slightly more than the estimated actual investment of $85 million in 2006. About 75% of investments were financed through external assistance in 2000.

Current investments. According to the MWE, the total budget for Ugandan water supply and sanitation was 149 billion Uganda Shilling or US$90 million in fiscal year 2006-2007, of which US$73 million were actually spent. This corresponds to US$2.37 per inhabitant. The NWSC received a budget of US$56 million. Out of the remaining funding of US$34 million, 54% was allocated to rural water and 29% to urban water. In addition, NGOs and Community-based organizations (CBOs) reported investments of US$5 million in 2006, and NGO and CBO members of the UNICEF-supported Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster, which provide emergency water supply and sanitation in Northern Uganda, reported investments of US$15 million from January 2005 to August 2006. Total sector investments in 2006 thus can be estimated at roughly US$85 million.

Investment needs. Since water supply and sanitation are recognized as key elements of the PEAP, the plan provides for long-term investments in the sector with priority to rural areas. The document indicates that in order to reach 95% coverage by 2015, from 2001 to 2015 investments of about US$956 million and US$417 million are needed for rural and urban areas, respectively, corresponding to a total of about US$100 million per year or only US$15 million more than current investment levels.

Financing. According to UN-Water, around the year 2000 donor financing accounted for up to 75% of the total sector funding. The sector benefited significantly from the Poverty Action Fund (PAF) under the framework of the PEAP. Uganda became the first country wthat qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries is a group of 40 developing countries with high levels of poverty and debt overhang which are eligible for special assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.- History and structure :...

initiative. Debt relief contributes about US$80 million per year to the PAF.

Financing conditions differ between urban and rural areas. In the case of the NWSC, concessional debt contracted from international financial institutions had been passed on by the government to the utility in the form of debt. However, in February 2008 the government agreed to convert the NWSC's 153.5 billion Shilling debt into equity. This was done with the objective to increase the NWSC's ability to borrow from the local capital market. A week later the NWSC announced that it intends to borrow 30 billion Uganda Shilling on the bond market to finance, on a fast-track basis, the construction of water intakes and offshore pipelines for the towns of Kampala

Kampala

, Jinja

Jinja, Uganda

Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...

, and Entebbe

Entebbe

Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...

in order to mitigate the impact of Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....

's receding levels on water supply. The NWSC expects to be able to borrow in local currency at lower interest rates and for longer maturities compared to borrowing from commercial banks. The World Bank is assisting the NWSC in structuring the bond issue.

Concerning rural areas, investments are financed primarily by grants. According to the 2000-2015 Rural Water and Sanitation Strategy and Investment Plan, Uganda's principal investment document for rural water supply and sanitation, financing for the rural sector will continue to be provided by external donors, the national government, and NGOs.

97% of investments in sanitation were funded by external aid. For the period 2010-2015 the government budgeted USD 0.4 million for sanitation, corresponding to 0.01% of GDP. This compares to a commitment by African Water Ministers made at the Africasan conference in 2008 in the eThekwini declaration in which they aspired that budget allocations for sanitation and hygiene "should be a minimum of 0.5% of GDP".

Overall, funding by the national government was expected to increase from 25% in 2000 to 75%.

External cooperation

Uganda receives external support from several donor agencies. In 2002, a Sector-Wide Approach

Sector-Wide Approach

Sector-Wide Approach is an approach to international development that "brings together governments, donors and other stakeholders within any sector. It is characterized by a set of operating principles rather than a specific package of policies or activities...

(SWAp) was adopted for the water and sanitation sector. Under the SWAp most development partners have agreed to channel their financing through the national budget. According to a 2006 report by UN-Water, the SWAp has led to the increased confidence of development partners and has proved to be the most appropriate mechanism for resources mobilization and program implementation.

Joint Water and Sanitation Sector Programme Support

The Joint Water and Sanitation Sector Programme Support, which follows a Sector-Wide Approach, is aligned with Uganda's 2004 Poverty Eradication Action Plan. Altogether, US$150 million are to be spent under the program, which started in 2008 and is expected to run for five years. The major development partner involved in the program is the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)

DANIDA

Danish International Development Agency , is a Danish organisation inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, set up to provide humanitarian aid and assistance in developing countries.-Origin of name:...

, which alone provides US$66 million. The other partners are the African Development Bank

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

(US$27 million), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) (US$19 million), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Sweden's official development assistance to developing countries....

(US$14 million), the Department for International Development, United Kingdom (DFID)

Department for International Development

The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...

(US$10 million), the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

(US$9 million) and the German Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit or GIZ is an international enterprise founded in 1975 by Erhard Eppler and owned by the German Federal Government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries. It primarily works for public-sector organizations and is...

and KfW

KFW

KFW may refer to:*Keith Fullerton Whitman , an American musician*KfW or Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, a German public-sector financial institution...

(US$6 million). The program aims to support the achievement of the sector targets. It intends to serve about 1,410,000 people in rural areas, 373,000 people in rural growth centers (RGCs) (communities with a population between 2,000 and 5,000 people), and 155,000 in small towns directly with water and to give them access to basic sanitation and hygiene facilities. Besides the extension of water supply and sanitation in rural areas, RGCs, and small towns, the program includes components (i) water resources management, (ii) sector program support for capacity building, and (iii) sector reforms and water for production.

African Development Fund

In 2005, the African Development Fund decided to contribute US$61 million to the rural water supply and sanitation program. Another US$118 million are provided by the Government of Uganda, and US$39 million are financed by NGOs, several other development partners, and directly by the communities. The program, which lasts for 4 years, aims to rehabilitate existing water supply schemes and provide new ones in rural areas. Furthermore, it seeks to provide new sanitation facilities in public places, schools, and health centers. These physical efforts are accompanied by environmental assessments, mitigation, and monitoring, as well as community development and capacity building. Finally, the program provides for institutional support for the central ministries in order to enable them to efficiently carry out their tasks.

European Union

The European Union contributed €14.75 million to the Mid-Western Towns Water and Sanitation Project. Under the project, which was implemented between 2001 and 2007, water supply and sanitation facilities in the towns of Masindi

Masindi

, Hoima

Hoima

, and Mubende

Mubende

districts were rehabilitated and extended.

World Bank

The World Bank has been active for decades in Uganda. For instance, the Bank approved its seventh Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) in 2008, under which it will provide US$200 million from May 2008 to September 2009, supporting Uganda's third Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP).

Uganda Water Small Towns and Rural Growth Centers. This Output-based aid

Output-based aid

Output-based aid refers to development aid strategies that link the delivery of public services in developing countries to targeted performance-related subsidies...

(OBA) project is carried out in 6 selected small towns and 4 Rural Growth Centers, where new water connections and public water points for about 45,000 poor beneficiaries are planned. The connections will take the form of household yard taps and public standpoints. The private sector participates through management contracts in small towns and design-build-operate contracts in RGCs. In order to ensure sustainable access, a part of the subsidies will not be paid until the connections are constructed according to agreed standards. The World Bank approved the project in February 2007 and is financing the total project cost of US$3.2 million. The project is expected to end in February 2010.

Water Supply Project. From 1990 to 1998, the Water Supply Project was carried out under the framework of an urban water program. Its objectives were to improve public health, enable increased production of goods and services, prevent environmental pollution, and ease women's burden through the expansion and improvement of water supply and sanitation facilities. In Kampala, Jinja

Jinja, Uganda

Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...

, Masaka

Masaka

, Mbara and Mbare, the project supported physical and institutional components in order to expand the system and strengthen the NWSC. In addition, water meters were installed to prevent water waste. The World Bank contributed US$60 million to the project.

External links

Institutions

Videos

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

:Sanitation for all - Uganda. The video describes the sanitary conditions in informal settlements in Kampala and efforts to improve them.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Access

Continuity of supply

Drinking water quality

Wastewater treatment

Water resources

Water use

History and recent developments

The reform of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation

Legal framework

Policy and regulation

Service provision

Private sector participation

Other functions

Economic efficiency

Non-revenue water

Labor productivity

Tariffs and cost recovery

Investment and financing

External cooperation

Joint Water and Sanitation Sector Programme Support

African Development Fund

European Union

World Bank

Further reading

External links