Rwanda reduces water loss to 30 percent with pipe repairs
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Rwanda’s Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) lowered its rate of non-revenue water, water lost through leaks, theft, and inaccurate metering, to 30 percent.
This represents a decrease from 45 percent, achieved through government efforts to repair aging pipes and improve water distribution across the country. State Minister for Infrastructure, Armand Zingiro, informed lawmakers that the rate fell to 36 percent last year before reaching 30 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Aging infrastructure, undersized water channels, and staffing shortages contributed to the previous high levels of water loss. WASAC plans to replace 30 kilometers of pipes this year and is equipping its Kigali branches for faster repairs. The government is also using satellite images to locate leaks and implementing performance-based contracts to improve efficiency. However, members of parliament expressed concerns about inconsistent water supply in some areas and the effect on public health.
Kigali currently needs 210,000 cubic meters of water daily, but faces a shortfall of around 70,000 cubic meters. To address this, the government is increasing production with projects at Nzove and Kanzenze, as well as the planned Nyabarongo II project, as part of its National Strategy for Transformation.
