The Water and Sanitation Corporation Limited (WASAC Ltd), says it plans to set up another water treatment plant near the old Nzove plant this fiscal year.

The plant will have installed capacity of 25, 000 m3 treated water per day in a bid to fill the water demand gap in the city and country as a whole.

The plant, once completed, will add to the 65,000m3/day currently produced in Kigali.

Method Rutagungira, the head of urban water and sanitation at WASAC, said Kigali needs about 100, 000m3 of water per day while water supplied is 65, 000m m3 per day, which implies a shortage of about 35, 000 m3 per day.

Water used in the city is produced by three water treatment plants: Nzove with 26,000m3/day, Kimisagara (about 20,000 m3/day) and Karenge with about 13,000 m3/day, and six pump stations (Byimana, Jali Bas, Gihogwe, Rwampara, Mburabuturo and Kinyinya A & B).

"We are planning to build another water plant with capacity to produce 25,000m3/day, which will add to the current 65,000 m3/day to make 90000 m3/day,” said James Sano, the Managing Director, WASAC.

Sano was speaking on Wednesday during a tour of water treatment plants in the city by a delegation led by the Minister of State in charge of Energy and Water, Germaine Kamayirese.

An audit report on water production and distribution in Kigali compiled by the Office of the Auditor General in May 2014 shows that some water treatment plants are producing below optimum capacity, citing Nzove which produces 26,000 m3/day instead of working at its capacity of 40,000 m3/day.

If the filters and supports are repaired, Nzove plant can significantly contribute toward addressing the current water shortage in the City of Kigali.

WASAC officials said the plant was producing below capacity bacause of mechanical faults.

"The plant has had eight water filters but two of them have since been damaged and need repair. We plan to add 10m3/day to the production of the plant which will make it 36,000 m3/day,” Sano added.

Challenges

Kimisagara water plant was built in 1981 with potential to produce 400 m3/day per hour. At the time, the city’s population was only about 200, 000 people. In 1989, the plant was upgraded to produce 600 m3/day per hour.

Now, the city counts about 1.1 million residents. WASAC says there is need to rehabilitate the plant to boost its production.

For Nzove water plant, Yasine Bushayija, the manager, said their main challenge is about high power costs.

"All the plant operations are electricity-assisted, especially because water has to be pumped. Each m3 of water requires about 1.5 Kwat/h for it to be produced, which is very costly,” he said.

Kimisagara plant draws its water from Yanze River in Kanyinya Sector, Nyarugenge District, while Nzove water plant treats water from 32 underground wells in Kanyinya Sector in the Basin of Nyabarongo River.

Minister Kamayirese said the Ministry of Infrastructure is committed to offering enough water supplies both in the city and the countryside.

Over 70 per cent of Rwandans have access to clean water and government has set 2017 to ensure universal access to clean water.

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