“Water is life,” so the saying goes. Owing to its indispensability, governments have an obligation to ensure citizens have access to it at the lowest possible cost. Despite being one of the most resource-endowed countries in the world, Uganda still struggles to guarantee universal access to safe water.
According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, at least 30 percent of the population—approximately 14 million people—did not have access to clean water as of 2023. This means that roughly 33 million Ugandans are currently served, but usage remains constrained. While most Ugandans live within reach of clean water supply points, far fewer actually use piped water due to various factors, chief among them being cost.
A cubic metre (1,000 litres) costs about UGX 4,200 for domestic consumers and UGX 5,168 for commercial consumers using less than 1,500 cubic metres. Low-income households, especially those in densely populated areas, can access water from National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) water points, where a 20-litre jerrican goes for UGX 25.
According to NWSC, these rates are heavily subsidised; the true cost of a cubic metre would be about UGX 10,000 if the utility were to operate on full business principles. NWSC officials say running a plant is predominantly driven by electricity costs—averaging UGX 3.5 billion per month—and chemical treatment costs of about UGX 1.2 billion.
Administrative overheads, maintenance, and capital investment further add to expenditure. Samuel Apedel, the Head of Public Relations and Corporate Communications at NWSC, argues that it is therefore unfair, especially for Kampala residents, to claim that water is expensive.
In Kampala, water supplied to homes is pumped from Lake Victoria, then cleaned, treated, and channelled into transmission and distribution systems. However, Lake Victoria also receives inflows from diverse sources, including channels like Nakivubo, stormwater runoff, and wastewater from homes, factories, schools, hospitals, and prisons.
Some households with septic tanks or pit latrines hire cesspool trucks to collect faecal sludge for delivery to NWSC treatment facilities. At these plants, the waste is treated and made safe for release into the environment. Nalukolongo Plant Manager, Philip Tumwine, says all operations are conducted in a non-nuisance environment, supported by smell-management technology.
The treatment process begins with the separation of solid waste—such as plastics, stones, sand, metals, and plant debris—from faecal material to prevent equipment damage and protect natural water bodies. Tumwine explains that the waste travels through several processing stages until faecal matter is converted into fertilizer as a by-product, while the water undergoes further purification.
He notes that foreign materials mixed with faecal waste make treatment more expensive. However, plant charges levied on cesspool operators do not cover the operational costs. Raising the tariff, he says, would increase public charges and discourage proper waste disposal.
The Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area is supplied by two major water treatment systems: the Gaba Water Works—comprising Gaba I, II, and III—and the Katosi Water Treatment Plant. These provide clean treated water to Kampala and its surroundings. NWSC also operates the Bugolobi and Nalukolongo wastewater treatment facilities, which process industrial and domestic waste for safe environmental discharge.
Domestic, institutional, and commercial consumers are charged between UGX 4,182 and UGX 5,168 per cubic metre, while some large industrial users may pay as little as UGX 2,500 per cubic metre. Both the Nalukolongo and Gaba III plants were upgraded through grants from the German government via the development bank KfW.
The Gaba upgrade, which began in 2007, cost EUR 13.8 million, while the modern Nalukolongo wastewater plant received EUR 20 million, co-funded by the French Development Agency and the Government of Uganda. Apedel says no water leaves NWSC plants without undergoing rigorous quality assurance tests.
He adds that the distribution network is monitored through both manual and automated systems and asserts that NWSC water is safe for consumption without boiling. He attributes contamination to poor storage practices by consumers, especially when water passes through private tanks.
He advises households to connect kitchen water lines directly to NWSC mains rather than through private tanks.
Quality Assurance Manager Eng. Acram Nsubuga confirms automation efficiency, saying more than 90 percent of NWSC operations are automated, with only 10 percent of data manually sourced.
Before the commissioning of Gaba III in 2007, Kampala’s plants processed only 100,000 cubic metres of water daily. The German-funded upgrade raised capacity to 150,000 cubic metres, but demand continued to strain supply.
The launch of the Katosi plant in 2021 eased pressure: Gaba I now processes 70,000 cubic metres daily, while Gaba II and III produce 80,000 cubic metres each. Apedel praises the German government for supporting wastewater treatment improvements and enabling NWSC to install more public water points in Kampala’s high-density areas.
To keep water affordable and enhance sustainability, NWSC urges the public to avoid disposing of foreign materials into sewage systems and water bodies. Reducing such waste would lower treatment costs and, in turn, reduce tariffs. According to Phillippe Rousell, the Deputy Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Kampala, Germany’s support was granted—not loaned—to ensure more Ugandans have access to water at affordable rates.
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