City dwellers are complaining about the state of tapped water in the last two days.

Residents of Kigali suburbs of Kacyiru, Remera, Kabeza, Kimihurura and Kicukiro are experiencing contaminated tap water, characterised by noticeable dirt and a brownish colour.

Some of the people The New Times spoke to blame the increased rains to for the dirty water. However, the national water utility, Rwanda Water and Sewerage Corporation (RWASCO), denied the allegations saying that increased rainfall has no impact on the state of the water supply.

"The water comes direct from the purification and treatment plant and does not in anyway mix with rainwater. Probably the problem is somewhere along the supply system and this is what we need to find out urgently,” said Theoneste Minani, the head of water section and planning in RWASCO.

Some of the residents The New Times spoke to said that the problem began on Tuesday and persisted through Wednesday. In Kabeza, residents revealed that upon collection, the water gathers a collection of dirt on the bottom of the container.

"We just noticed the problem yesterday (Tuesday) after the rainfall. The water was somehow brown and there was dirt on the bottom. We hoped it can stabilise in the morning but it hasn’t so far,” said Enos Mugiraneza, a resident of Kabeza.

The same problem has been cited in Kimicanga,  Sonatube area, Remera-Giporoso and some parts of Kimironko.

According to Minani, RWASCO is investigating the problem and will soon come up with an answer.

"We work with Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Authority (RURA) which regularly measures the quality of the water and tells us where to improve. We also have a toll free line where people call us and inform us of any arising concerns and we have already received reports,” Minani said.

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