Esther Mukantwali at a water point in Rwangara village in Kigali, Rwanda.
An African Development Bank-funded public-private water project has brought clean water to several homes in Rwandan villages.
The Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project was the bank’s first private sector operation in Rwanda. The project was completed in 2021 and covered the installation of a new water treatment plant, building new wells and rehabilitating existing ones.
It also provided pipelines, storage reservoirs, pumping stations and water points in various parts of Kigali. The manager of the water point in Rwangara village, Esperance Mukandenezo, says the facility has improved sanitation in the area.
Scope of the Rwanda water project
Producing 40,000 cubic meters of water daily, the project has increased access and improved water services for around 500,000 people in Kigali and surrounding areas. It also serves the country’s largest industrial zone, the Kigali Prime Economic Zone, located in Masoro, Gasabo District.
It was implemented by the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC), the national water and sanitation utility, which, previously, could only produce 109,500m³ against Kigali’s average demand of 150,000 to 200,000m daily.
According to Speciose Nyirabahire, a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist with WASAC, there are 68 water points installed under the project in Bugesera District.
The story of two Rwandan villagers
Prior to the project implementation in the Rwangara Village in Bugesera District, about 18km south of Rwanda’s capital Kigali, Esther Mukantwali used to wake up at 3am to trek for an hour to fetch water from a swamp.
The same goes for 18-year-old Umuhoza Francine, who lives 4km further in Nyagatovu village, also in Bugesera District. She trekked for over two hours to get to the source of her village’s water. That meant she got to school late and exhausted.
Francine said that it got worse during the dry season because the swamp would dry up, forcing them to walk up to an extra three hours further to get to the next water source.
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The story is different now.
“I no longer wake up at 3am in search of water. I get enough sleep knowing I can access clean water at my doorstep,” said Mukantwali. She added: “I have enough time to spare for income generation activities.”
Francine, on the other hand, not only walks less than five minutes to the water tap, but she also now gets to school on time. Mukantwali, Francine, and other residents of their villages pay a small weekly fee of about 300 Rwandan Francs ($0.37) for facility maintenance.
Improving health through sanitation
Prior to the project’s implementation, many cases of waterborne diseases were reported because the water sources were then contaminated.
“We used to have many cases of waterborne diseases because the water sources then were contaminated,” said monitoring and evaluation specialist Nyirabahire. “Now, the situation has greatly improved, thanks to the Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project.”
“Now girls are no longer dropping out of school because of domestic chores. Given that water is close to their homes, they have ample time to study, and they are also performing well in school,” she said.
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Sanitation in schools has also improved because, apart from enhancing water supply, the project provided ablution blocks in the learning institutions, said Nyirabahire.
The Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project is contributing to the government’s agenda of achieving universal access to water. According to the National Strategy for Transformation 2017-2024, the government seeks to scale up access to water to 100% by 2024 from the current 86%. With the support of the Bank, Rwanda appears to be on course to achieving the objective.
