Fetching water from the Akagera River used to be an arduous activity for residents of Nyamugari and Kigarama sectors in Kirehe District as they spent hours walking. This daily routine not only exposed children and the elderly to tiresome conditions and in some sometimes resulted in death.
For schoolchildren, walking the distance to fetch water also stole their valuable time that could have been spent in class.
Today, a network of water pipes from the underground Akagera has changed life in the region, schools being among the beneficiaries.
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Afisa Muhawenimana lost her eldest son in 2022 when drowned in the Akagera River after he went to fetch water before going to school.
Despite that loss, Muhawenimana is relieved of the once-lingering fear of losing another child, thanks to a water tap installed in her compound.
"My child no longer has to trek to the river. She can focus on her studies and attend classes on time,” said Afisa Muhawenimana, a resident of Kirehe District.
She said her 10-year-old daughter’s performance in school also improved after they had water near their home.
"She used to rank in the 30s, but in the past four terms, she has consistently placed among the top 10,” Muhawenimana said.
The newly installed water pipelines now span 22 kilometres, reaching Akagera Primary School, which educates more than 600 children. Now supplying clean water to over 16,000 residents and three schools, the pipeline has become a lifeline for the region.
According to Eliezel Nzeyimana, the assistant headteacher at the school, water scarcity used to affect students’ health and academic performance.
"Before the school get access to clean water, many students fell ill or arrived late after walking 2-3 kilometers to fetch water,” Nzeyimana said. "In 2021, only one out of 39 students passed their national exams.”
Nzeyimana said since the installation of the water pipeline, pupils’ health and attendance have improved significantly, with all national exam candidates passing last year and only two pupils failing the previous.
"We used to deploy 300 children to fetch water for school activities like cleaning and cooking,” he said.
The success of the Akagera aquifer pipeline connecting residents in Kirehe, is part of a broader initiative to tap into Rwanda’s groundwater resources.
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Bernard Musana, the head of the knowledge and forecasting hub at Rwanda Water Resources Board, said that they identified areas eight districts with high groundwater potential for drilling.
"We have identified more 200 groundwater sites across Eastern and Southern provinces, regions highly vulnerable to prolonged droughts and water shortages,” Musana said.
"Among these, eight sites stand out, each with the capacity to supply 1,000 cubic meters of water per day.”
He added that this water could support small-scale irrigation on 100 hectares and meet domestic needs of the local residents.
In Kirehe District, underground water sources such as Kirehe-Mushikiri-Rugarama-Bugarura and Kirehe-Gahara-Butezi-Kijumbura II have been identified as capable of providing clean water.
Musana also highlighted the importance of proper waste management amid increasing urbanization, modern farming, and industrial development to protect the aquifier.
"We are particularly concerned about the shallow aquifer, which lies close to the surface,” he said. "Solid and liquid waste in various areas must be disposed of only after verifying and confirming the presence [or absence] of an aquifer to prevent contamination.”
Rwanda has 6.8 billion cubic metres of renewable water resources in lakes and rivers as well as rainwater, while groundwater recharge is estimated at 4.5 billion m3 per annum, according to figures from Rwanda Water Resources Board.