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Mutobo project set to quench Kigali’s thirst

Saturday May 25 2013
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Residents fetch water in a wetland in Kigali’s Kiyovu suburb in Nyarugenge District. Photo/Cyril Ndegeya

The water shortage in Kigali and surrounding districts has forced the government to look for a private investor to help it avert a crisis.

The city’s population has been growing yet the Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA), the public water and electricity company and regulator of the sector, does not have the resources to invest in such a huge project.

Rwanda Today has learnt that a pipeline will be laid at Mutobo, at the foot of the Volcanoes National Park in Musanze District, 100 kilometres from Kigali.

The water will be pumped from River Mukungwa, which feeds the twin lakes Bulera and Ruhondo, Ntare Karitanyi, the director-general EWSA, said.

According to EWSA engineers, Musanze and Nyabihu Districts have sufficient water resources to meet Kigali’s water needs in the long term.
Moreover, its distribution also provides opportunities for hydropower generation.

But the project also seeks to mend the bad relations that had developed between environmentalists and EWSA over the latter’s bid to source water from nearby lakes. The experts warned that such a move would plunge the country in an environmental catastrophe.

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Rwanda Today had earlier reported that scientists at Water for People, an international NGO based in Kigali, outlined a number of risks that could emerge if the city were to pump water from the lakes.

READ: Experts warn of acute water shortage

“Today, those lakes are being used by fishermen. As soon as the water is extracted, the lakes could dry up and we will be putting at stake our water reserves and sources of our ecotourism,” said a water expert who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity.

Extend water supply

When the Mutobo Water Supply Project, a public-private partnership (PPP), is complete it is expected that more than two million people in the districts of Kicukiro, Gasabo, Nyarugenge, Muhanga and Bugesera will be supplied with water.

“The Project is structured as a BOT including design, finance, build, operate and transfer with a negotiable 25 years concession period and an underpinning Water Purchase Agreement (WPA) with EWSA as contract signatory and off-taker,” a statement signed by Mr Karitanyi reads.

BOT, or “Build Own and Transfer”, means the investor will use their money to construct the water plant, run it for 25 years to recoup the investment and then transfer it to the government.

It is expected that the project will also extend water supply transportation from Kigali to Muhanga and Bugesera, which are located approximately 56km and 60km to the west and south of the city, respectively.

The investor, whom the government has began sourcing through the procurement process, is expected to construct a water treatment plant, main pipeline and main reservoirs. The system will be designed to meet the city’s water demands up to 2040.

However, EWSA says the final water supply to end-users remains its responsibility.

Primary sources for supply of water to Kigali currently include surface, spring and ground water taken from surrounding districts.

EWSA engineers say Kigali is suffering a water deficit that worsens during the dry season when water levels in the supplying lakes and rivers decrease.

Turn to inland lakes

In 2008, the population of Kigali was estimated at 850,000 and the current three per cent growth rate has overwhelmed its sources of water.

The Kigali City Master Plan shows that the city will need to increase its water supply by 86.5 per cent before 2017.

Rwanda relies on natural springs, rivers and rain harvesting, with the last source not fully exploited. With the growing demand for water, however, these sources have become less effective, forcing the country to turn to its inland lakes.