Water supply in Uganda

Water security and social repercussions

Maximilian Hansche, Verena Kasirye-Büllesbach
Water is the source of life and affects almost every area of human coexistence. It is precisely
because of its indispensability that good water management and access to water are of
tremendous value. This significance of water is mirrored in international politics: Access to
clean water has meanwhile been listed among the so-called “third generation of human
rights” and is moreover pursued as one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
Goals. Failure to address this question of water supply triggers repercussions that go far
beyond ensuring the availability of drinking water and that may pose threats to the areas of
health, economy and social justice. Blessed with abundant precipitation and natural water
reservoirs, the East African country Uganda seems unaffected by these challenges.
Nonetheless, a closer look reveals incisive challenges in access to clean water and to
sanitation facilities.

Distributed availability of water in regional comparison

Once coined as the “Pearl of Africa” by British Premier Winston Churchill, Uganda amazes
with fascinating landscapes and variety of nature. Lake Victoria, Bwindi National Park,
Muchison Falls or Rwenzori mountains – all of these popular locations are home to rich water
reservoirs. Numerous rivers and lakes, including the Nile, accommodate the Ugandan
population with water. In sum, roughly 15% of Uganda’s surface is covered by freshwater.
Additionally, Uganda experiences strong rainfall during the two rainy seasons.

The apparent abundance is misleading: Even though the country encompasses extensive
water resources, it suffers from discrepancies of its distribution, which is partially a result of
being highly dependent on precipitation. In this, seasonal rainfall causes immense
differences in the available amounts of water, so that shortages can occur especially during
the dry season. In addition, rainfall and sources of water are unevenly distributed across the
country. The annual rainfall varies from 500mm up to 2800mm, depending on the region.
Therefore, some regions receive significantly more rain than needed, while regions such as
northern Karamoja suffer from water shortages, even during the rainy season. Further
aspects such as climate change, urbanisation, industrialisation and population growth
increasingly pressure Uganda’s water sector.

Water – a complex phenomenon

The necessity of available water goes far beyond using freshwater and can be seen through
numerous dependencies: Water is used in food production as much as in irrigation and
animal feeding. While the energy potential of water is used in power plants to generate
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electricity and it thus influences economic development, water plays just as much a central
role in sanitation and hygiene, thus being invaluable to public health. Moreover,
unavailability of clean water correlates with insufficient education, poverty and social
inequality. None of these areas can be regarded separately from each other. For instance,
industrially tapped water resources are no longer available as freshwater – wastewater may
indeed contaminate ground water which has further repercussions for the sectors
depending on the cleanliness of groundwater. This is why an apparent improvement of
using water in the energy sector, may, for instance, lead to lesser water security overall.
Thus, any approach to water usage must be formulated holistically.

It must be acknowledged that water is a finite and highly sensitive resource. This is
illustrated through the model of the water cycle, in which rain water becomes groundwater
through seepage, returns to the surface via a spring, evaporates and then again falls as rain.
This finite resource of water thus demands for sustainable treatment to prevent its
contamination. Water also requires mild forms of usage, which minimise complex treatment
and which renders water utilisable in a large number of areas.

Concerns of water usage

The country's total water resources constitute one of the highest irrigation potentials in the
world, which favours food production in the agricultural sector. However, due to a lack of
integrative approaches and inefficient water utilisation, the high potential is not exploited
appropriately. Thus, in order to use water more consciously and efficiently, greater attention
should be paid to usage of water, especially in areas which lack water. Paying attention to
water consumption refers specifically to virtual water; that is water which is “virtually” used
in the production of goods. It points out how high the water usage in different parts of food
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production or energy generation actually is.

Additionally, optimised water usage requires an integrative approach, which enables

effective usage of water in multiple sectors simultaneously and which allows used water to
become usable again – this approach, however, can hardly be found in Uganda. Models and
approaches should enable effective and extensive usage of water and contain sustainable
treatment mechanisms. For the field of sanitary, it is therefore not only important to create
access to clean lavatories and to sinks for washing hands, but also to ensure that
wastewater is disposed of and treated properly to avoid contamination damages. To secure
effective supply of water, improved awareness and broader understanding of the complex
interdependencies of water-related areas are a core concern.

Unsafe water sources and insufficient wastewater management

What does water safety currently look like in Uganda? Generally, access to clean water has
proven to be a concern. The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) is one of the
key actors in treating and supplying water for public use. Water provided by the NWSC does
actually fulfil high quality standards, with 99.6% of the provided water meeting national
standards for drinking water. In addition, WHO standards for bacterial contamination are
reliably met and in 98% of cases the requirements for pH values, chlorine residual and
colouring are met. These figures are by no means alarming. They are only put into
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perspective by the fact that access to the water treated by the NWSC is not available
countrywide.

In fact, a quarter of Uganda's population obtains their drinking water from unsafe sources.
In 2012, as many as 10% of the population obtained their drinking water from surface water
(from rivers, lakes, unsecured ponds, etc.) - a figure that has only dropped to 8% since then. 2
Moreover, the percentage of the population with access to NWSC water has only risen by
0.4% since 2013.3 The figures for sanitation are not more encouraging either. According to a
UN Wash report, only 34% of the population have access to improved sanitation facilities.
Since 1990, this proportion has risen by only 8%, and not at all in urban areas.4 In addition,
7% of the population still practice open defecation. 5

The full extent of the water shortage is mirrored in the fact that 61% of Uganda's population
lack access to clean water.6 Apart from high dependence of varying precipitation, this issue
is worsened through poor expansion of the water network. Less than 10% of the population
are connected to this network and thus have to rely on other solutions. The influence of the
poorly developed sewage system also explains why the lack of water supply in Uganda is not
only a problem in dry areas, but also in large cities, especially in Kampala.

Health risks through water

Lack of water supply and contaminated water are also a source of diseases for the
respective population. Cholera and Cholera and other diarrheal diseases are primarily the
result of poor access to water and sanitation. In addition, this lack of access increases the
likelihood of further serious diseases such as bacterial infections, malaria and typhoid.

WASH programs and WASH clubs have already indicated that such health hazards can be
significantly reduced through programmes focused on water and sanitation. In particular,
the number of cholera and other diarrheal infections could be reduced by sensitising the
population. At the same time, these programmes also reveal the most striking problem of
water management in Uganda: inadequate education. Outbreaks of these diseases are
regularly linked to careless usage of water. After a cholera outbreak in the region Kasese in
2011, 94% of those affected admitted that they used water from unsafe sources, in which
residents swam and partly disposed of their faeces.

Water security – a social problem

Lack of access to clean water puts especially those who are already in a marginalised
position, namely children, women and socio-economically weaker persons, at a
disadvantage. The Karamoja and Yube regions, for instance, are both characterised by high
poverty and insufficient water supply. The situation in the cities, above all Kampala, is most
precarious in the slum areas such as Kisenyi or Katwe. The respective population also
cannot come up with the necessary financial means to privately extend water networks or
sanitary facilities.

Health effects due to insufficient water safety are especially fatal for disadvantaged
populations of Uganda, among which are children. Diseases resulting from water shortage
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are among the main factors for a high infant mortality rate. 7 In addition, children under the
age of 5 are the age group with the highest risk of contracting diarrhoea. In the case of
Cholera outbreaks children under the age of fourteen are the most vulnerable group as they
are most affected by the outbreaks. Under long-term considerations, such factors are not
merely a health risk for children but constitute also a social risk due to possible further
health effects, medical costs and further impairments.

Moreover, specifically girls are negatively impacted when sanitary facilities are amiss in
schools. This can force them to stay at home during their menstrual cycle, thus putting them
at disadvantage in their education. Additionally, it has been shown that women working in
water-related sectors such as fishery or agriculture are disadvantaged and, in cases of lack
of water, women are stronger impacted by the reduction of earnings. Even within families,
women are most likely to suffer from thirst or dehydration in case of water shortages.8
These gender disparities are widened by existing traditional role models. As women usually
carry responsibilities for washing, cooking, fetching water and cleaning, the social pressure
on them is high.9 Apart from physical diseases, women in areas affected by water scarcity in
Uganda also face a 70% higher risk of falling into depression.10

Insufficient overall outcome

Overall, access to water in Uganda is not satisfactory. Apart from natural causes, lack of
awareness, education, sustainable usage and integrative approaches contribute to the
problem. This does not only impact the availability of drinking water. Apart from health risks,
social consequences which specifically handicap disadvantaged populations have been
recorded, as well. Improved water security must thus be established through integrative
approaches, aiming, among other, at reducing social tensions and inequalities.
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1 Morelli, Angela (2018): The water we eat. Online: [http://thewaterweeat.com/].

2
World Health Organization/UNICEF: Joint Monitoring Program (2014): Progress on
Drinking-Water and Sanitation. 2014 Update.

3 Ministry of Water and Environment (2017): Water and Environment. Sector Performance
Report 2017.

4 World Health Organization/UNICEF: Joint Monitoring Program (2014).

5 Kwesiga, Benon et al. (2018): A pro-longed, community-wide cholera outbreak associated

with drinking water contaminated by sewage in Kasese district, Western Uganda. In: BMP
Public Health, 18: 30.

6 Water.org (2019): Uganda. Online: [https://water.org/our-impact/uganda/].

7 African Development Fund (2005): Appraisal Report. Rural water supply and sanitation
program. Uganda.

8 Tsai, Alexander C. et al. (2016): Population-based study of intra-household gender

differences in water insecurity: reliability and validity of a survey instrument for use in rural
Uganda. In: Journal of Water and Health, 14: 2.

9 Uganda Bureau of Statistics (2012): Water and Sanitation Sector. Gender Statistics Profile.

10 Cooper-Vince, Christine E. et al. (2018): Water insecurity and gendered risk for depression in
rural Uganda. a hotspot analysis. In: BMP Public Health, 18: 1143.

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Verena Kasirye-Büllesbach
Project Officer
Uganda & South Sudan Office
www.kas.de

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