Kamwenge District

Local Government

BIGULI SUB COUNTY GETS THREE NEW

WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION SYSTEMS

Wash Ugandas George Mugenyi (back to camera) joins officials in first tests of Rwabishahis pipped water scheme

ump operator John Batuma opened the tap. Water

gushed out. White. Bright. Reflecting the sunrays.
Those who were standing in its way literally took
off for their lives.
Hidden in their flight was great joy. The joy of
accomplishment. the knowledge that safe water was
now in easy reach. Piped water had come to Rwebishahi
community in Biguli sub county, Kamwenge district.
This was the scene early April as the partners promoting
the Everyone Forever Vision in Kamwenge District
made a final technical tour of the system ahead of its
official commissioning on 27 April 2016.

Rwebishahi water supply and sanitation system is one of

the four that have so far been constructed in Biguli Sub
county, with financial support from Water For People.
The others are: Malere-Nyakabungo-Butanda and
Busingye-Buhumuriro, also to be commissioned today
27th April 2016 by Eng. Aaron Kabirizi, the Director of
Directorate of Water Development in the Ministry of
Water and Environment.
The fourth system is Biguli-Kirinda which was
commissioned in June 2015, covering a 7km distance
and serving 7000 people.
Water For People has since 2012 been working with

Ministiry Engineer David checks the resorvior readings at Rwebishahi, and visits a water stall at Malere
Kamwenge District Local Government to improve Water
Sanitation and Hygiene Services. The primary focus
has been on ensuring that everyone in the district has
access to safe water, forever. This means that every
household, every clinic and every school has a reliable
and sustainable supply of safe water.

three systems can serve a domestic population of up

to 7,129 and an institutional population of 4,140. They
are all powered by three-phase electrical diesel-driven
generator sets of prime power 15kVA which powers the
electrical submersible pump. They cover a distance of
8.6km.

Interventions started in Biguli Sub County, with

assessment in five target villages including: Biguli (1353
people), Kirinda (1084 people), Busingye (907 people),
Buhumuriro (878 people) and Rwebishahi (1378 people)
and Malere Primary School with 1600 pupils.

Worth investment

NWSCG: Water of very high quality

Earlier assessments identified sites for drilling of
production wells in each of these communities. The
yields obtained varied between 2500 litres per hour
and 6,000 litres per hour. The borehole depths ranged
between 67 and 76 metres. Water Quality tests were
also carried out by the Central Laboratory of National
Water and Sewerage Corporation indicated that the
water contained in the aquifers being tapped are of very
good quality commensurate with the national standards
for potable water.
The piped water supply and sanitation systems were
designed and constructed. Community members were
sensitized about the cost of accessing water from the
system and the importance of contributing financial
resources towards the maintenance of the scheme.
Soon enough, connections were being effected and
people were now accessing safe water at an affordable
fee. As at March 31st 2016, 13 tap stands and 3 kiosks
had been set up on the three new systems. All the
systems are managed by parish Water Supply and
Sanitation Boards, which have in turn hired private
scheme operators.
With a total storage capacity of 6550 metres, the

In terms of funding and other resources, Water for

People invested UGX1.2 Billion; Ministry of Water
and Environment and the Kamwenge District Local
Government provided technical and supervisory
support; Biguli Sub County provided manpower for
supervision and land acquisition, while the residents
provided the land for the sytems.
An engineers view
Speaking during the technical monitoring of the three
systems, Peter Opwonya the team lead of Technical
Support Unit Six (TSU6) expressed his satisfaction with
the project.
From the final inspection we have had today, this project
and system is ready for commissioning. We are happy
that the contractor has handled most of the snags we
identified at the previous site meetings, Opwonya said.
The emphasis now should be on the private operator
and the board, working closely with the sub-county
to sensitise people and ensure we have systems and
structures to maintain and operate sustainably.
As a sector, we are now shifting from the point water
sources, for example shallow wells, springs, boreholes,
and moving to piped systems. If we have such systems
in Biguli and they are well managed, we should be able
to move in the right direction.

Ministiry Engineer David (left)

and Sub Country
chief Ronald
Mgume (right)
make sure Hope
Atuhaires water
metre readings
are working well.
Atuhaire is one
of the first water
caretakers in
Rwebishahi.

A Water Board official and users comment

Gloria Laadi, treasurer of the Busingye-RwebishahiBuhumiriro water supply and sanitation board, agreed
they are on the right track, learning important lessons
in maintaining the systems and improving peoples
lives.
Previsously we were taking water from the swamp,
or buying unsafe water from the vendor. It was bad
and unhealthy, Laadi recalls the situation before the
piped system was constructed by Water for People.
The price of water has since reduced from Sh500 to
sh200 in her area. In other areas it is as low as sh100.
Laadi admits that some challenges have emerged,
especially with Operation and Maintenance, as cases
of faulty taps have increased. Most of the money
collected from users is spent on fuel to pump the
water. Also with the onset of the rainy season, people
harvest rainwater for domestic use which reduces the
amount of money collected by the board. But on a
positive note, from the funds raised, the water board
has been able to open a Post Bank account.
Users and pump mechanic comments

Rwebishahi Water Supply and Sanitation Water Scheme

Description
Specification
Location
District
Kamwenge
County
Kibale
Sub County
Biguli
Parish
Biguli
Villages Served
Rwebishahi
Background Information
Size of Current Population being
841 Domestic Population
served
323 Institutional Population
Population Designed for or Capacity of 1,325 Domestic Population
systems in 20 years ((2016 2036)
509 Institutional Population
Management
Name of Water Supply and Sanitation
Biguli Parish Water Supply and Sanitation Board
Board
Name of Scheme Operator
Batuma John
System Specifications
Source
Source of Energy

Length of Transmission (pipeline from

source to the tank)
Nature and Capacity of Tank
Length of distribution (for supplying
beneficiaries)
Number of Metered outlets as at end of
March 2016
Source of Funds and Appreciation
Water for People
Ministry of Water & Environment and
Kamwenge District Local Government
Biguli Sub County Local Government
Rwebishahi residents

Maintenance, fuel and rains are common issues of

concern when you talk to users. Hope Atuhire operates
one of the tapstands on the Rwebishahi system. She
also operates an eatery in the area. While she says
water has improved her earnings and reputation, she
also bemoans the coming of the rains which have
halved her earnings. She says residents also need to
adjust to the price increase from sh100 to sh200.
Malere scheme operator Peter Tumwesiga calls for
more support in this early stage, to ensure viability of the
water project. He specifically says there are challenges
relating with water meter reading which leads to losses.

Production well that yields 5000litres per hour

and is 67m deep well
The source is powered by a three phase
electrical diesel driven generator set of Prime
power 15kVA that a powers an electrical
submersible pump.
1,600m
Reinforced Concrete Tank of 30,000litres
2,100m
4 Tap stands and 1 Kiosk
Financed Capital Investment of up to
UGX350,000,000
Provision of technical supervisory Support
Provision of manpower for supervision and land
acquisition
Provision of land for the construction

LC3 chairman impressed

Simeon Komaho, Chairperson LC3 Biguli Sub county,
says all difficulties are part of the initial stages of such
projects, and says the impact on the community is huge.
We got the Water for People programe in 2012, we
then had 23% water coverage and were one of the
water stressed sub-counties in Kamwenge. But now we
have 53% safe water coverage, he said.
Water borne diseases have been greatly minimized
and people have more time to concentrate on improving

Facts about the schemes

Malere Nyakabungo - Butanda Water Supply and Sanitation System

Description
Specification
Location
District
Kamwenge
County
Kibale
Sub County
Biguli
Parish
Biguli
Villages Served
Malere, Nyakabungo & Butanda
Background Information
Size of Current Population being served 2,467 Domestic Population
1,600 Institutional Population
Population Designed for or Capacity of
3,888Domestic Population
systems in 20 years ((2016 2036)
2,560 Institutional Population
Management
Name of Water Supply & Sanitation
Malere Parish Water Supply and Sanitation
Board
Board
Name of Scheme Operator
Tumwesiga Peter
System Specifications
Source
Source of Energy

Length of Transmission (pipeline from

each of the sources to the tank)
Nature and Capacity of Tank
Length of distribution (for supplying
beneficiaries)
Number of Metered outlets as at end of
March 2016
Source of Funds and Appreciation
Water for People
Ministry of Water & Environment and
Kamwenge District Local Government
Biguli Sub County Local Government
Malere Nyakabungo Butanda
residents

2 production boreholes with a yield of 2500litres

per hour and 5000litres per hour that are 67m
and 60m deep respectively
Each of the sources is powered by three phase
electrical diesel driven generator set of Prime
power 13kVA and 15kVA respectively that a
power electrical submersible pumps.
2,300m and 2,150m
Elevated steel cylindrical tank with a capacity of
30,000litres
4,200m
5 Tap stands and 1 Kiosk
Financed Capital Investment of up to
UGX500,000,000.
Provision of technical supervisory Support
Provision of manpower for supervision and land
acquisition
Provision of land for the construction

Busingye - Buhumuriro Water Supply and Sanitation Water Scheme

Description
Location
District
County
Sub County
Parish
Villages Served
Background Information
Size of Current Population being served
Population Designed for or Capacity of
systems in 20 years ((2016 2036)
Management
Name of Water Supply and Sanitation
Board
Name of Scheme Operator
System Specifications
Source
Source of Energy

Length of Transmission (pipeline from

source to the tank)
Nature and Capacity of Tank
Length of distribution (for supplying
beneficiaries)
Number of Metered outlets as at end of
March 2016
Source of Funds and Appreciation
Water for People
Ministry of Water &Environment and
Kamwenge District Local Government
Biguli Sub County Local Government
Busingye & Buhumuriro residents

Specification
Kamwenge
Kibale
Biguli
Biguli
Busingye & Buhumuriro
1,216 Domestic Population
680 Institutional Population
1,916 Domestic Population
1,071 Institutional Population
Biguli Parish Water Supply and Sanitation
Board
Batuma John
3,000litre per hour 61m deep production well
The source is powered by a three phase
electrical diesel driven generator set of Prime
power 15kVA that a powers an electrical
submersible pump.
500m
30,000litres, Reinforced Concrete Tank
2,300m
4 Tap stands and 1 Kiosk
Financed Capital Investment of up to
UGX350,000,000
Provision of technical supervisory Support
Provision of manpower for supervision and
land acquisition
Provision of land for the construction

The water tank at Malere serves 10,000 people.

The school that hosts the launch.
their income without worrying about water.
The majority of the people have not yet accessed water,
but we are optimistic, as this project is still going on. Out of
40 villages, a scheme was commission for two villages last
year, now we are adding six more villages.
We still have a challenge with the vulnerable and the
elderly. They might not have enough money to pay as
they fetch, they will fail, and go back to the ponds..that
means the water borne diseases will continue
My appeal to government is that Biguli sub county be
considered in the rural electrification project to help cut
costs of buying fuel to pump water.
Hosts are most pleased
Jackson Mugarura has a huge
smile. There is a reason.
The headmaser of Malere
Primary School will not only
host the function to launch
the water schemes in Biguli,
but is already one of the main
beneficiaries as a user.
Oh. You cannot believe the happiness we, the students
and parents have, he said.
Our children now spend less time going to look for water,
and we worry less about their hygiene and water diseases
as we have safe water flowing day and night.
Water For All looks for 100% and sustainability
(REVISIT AUDIO)
Consultant George Mugenyi says..........Water is a
service that should be maintained on a commercialthere
is a lot of work being doneit is within policy of govt and

P. O Box 1420 Kampala - Uganda / Tel +256 414 223247 /www.waterforpeople.org