Unreliable water supply has persisted in town councils in Luwero district nine years after National Water and Sewerage Corporation took over from private companies.
Wobulenzi and Luwero Town Councils were connected to the National Water and Sewerage Corporation grid in April 2013 and has since expanded to Bombo, Ndejje and Zirobwe town councils. However, nine years later, several residents and local leaders remain unsatisfied with the Corporation for its failure to ensure reliable supply as well as connect some zones.
Moses Ssebalamu, the LCIII Chairperson of Wobulenzi Town explains that National Water is able to supply water for not more than one hour per day, and as a result, the area population relies more on boreholes and other open sources where they spend not less than 500 Shillings for each 20-litre jerrycan of water.
Ssebalamu says that although National Water constructed a reservoir at Nsozi Biri hill in Katikamu sub-county to boost its supply, the situation never changed, and residents often spend several weeks without water. The three boreholes used to supply water by NWSC in Wobulenzi can only generate 21,000 litres of water below the required 1,500,000 litres for the population.
Florence Nalwanga, a resident of Kkungu Village in Wobulenzi says that sometimes all they have is enough water for cooking and not any other activity There is a public outcry in Bombo and Luwero town councils over the same.
Luwero District National Water and Sewerage Corporation Manager Ronald Kisakye acknowledges that the Corporation is still rationing water, especially in Wobulenzi, Bombo and Luwero town councils due to the low water table at Wobulenzi and Bombo towns. He however adds that the Corporation has made 11,032 connections and collects 285 million Shillings per month from 21 million Shillings before.
Mariam Kaberuka, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner said that unreliable water supply doesn’t only affect sanitation but contributes to defilement as young girls spend long hours in the search for water.
Engineer Edmond Okaronon, the Director of Regional Operations in NWSC says that a team of engineers was sent to Luwero last week and conducted a survey in order to come up with a lasting solution to the matter. Okaronon, however, asked the residents to wait for about 6-12 months to enable the corporation to come up with a tangible intervention.
“The team is now compiling the report on the matter to see how we can improve supply. Once the report is made we shall work with you to improve the water supply,” Okaronon said at the end of a monitoring tour in the towns on Monday.
Dan Kidega, a Board Member of NWSC said that the Corporation must find ways to ensure that they increase supply to the area even if it needs pumping water from distant areas. Kidega said that the purpose of the Board visit to the affected towns was to assess the water supply challenges and will support proposals to boost Corporation’s efforts to address them.
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