ENTEBBE MUNICPAL
COUNCIL WATER RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Semakula Samson
Agricultural Officer
Desk Officer ICLEI, Entebbe Municipal Council
BACKGROUND TO ENTEBBE MUNICPALITY
LOCATION:
• 00 04 N and 32 E, 37 Km South West of
Kampala the capital city of Uganda.
• A peninsular in the Lake Victoria measuring
56.2 square Kilometers of which about 20
Square Kilometers is water.
Entebbe Municipaliity
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100
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0
Fish landing sites.shp
Mixed farmland.shp
Conservation areas.shp
Lake victoria.shp
Murramroads.shp
Tarmacroads.shp
Builtup area.shp
Airport.shp
Wetlands.shp
Mainland.shp
Boundary.shp
100
200 Miles
N
W
E
S
HISTORY
• Established 1893 as an administrative
centre for the Colonial Government.
• Capital City of Uganda in 1894,
• Municipality in 1973.
• The Municipality enjoys a Tropical climate,
characterized by bimodal rainfall pattern
Average annual rainfall is 2600mm.
• Altitude: 1600Meters above Average Sea
Level.
• Mean daily temperatures 26.80 c
DEMOGRAPHY
1.
57,518 inhabitants, Average population density 1500 persons per
Square Kilometer (Population census 2002) About 100,000 day
time population
2. Growth rate 6%
3.
9,500 households
4. 12% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Source: Uganda Bureau of Statistics
ADMINSTRATIVE UNITS
• The Municipality is made up of 2 divisions
A and B. Each of the Divisions is made up
of two wards.
• The Mayor is the Political Head of the
Council and the Town Clerk is the
Technical Head of the Council.
BACKGROUND TO WATER SUPPLY IN THE
MUNICPALITY
Main source of water: surface water from Lake Victoria.
Main source of safe drinking water is the National Water and
Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) piped water grid.
NWSC
The NWSC operated a water plant in Entebbe
since 1960 as the then Water Development
Department, WDD, now the Directorate of Water
Development (DWD), to catered for the water
needs of Senior Government Officials and
Government Institutions in the town at that time.
After Independence in 1964, the number of
Government Officials in the town grew and their
residences and all government institutions in the
town paid a flat rate for water consumed.
In 1998 under the management of NWSC
it became a policy to have all water
supplied by NWSC metered. Consumers
pay for the water as consumed.
The NWSC had a daily pumping capacity
9,500 Cubic Meters with 7200 metered
customers the bulk of whom are domestic
consumers. At that pumping capacity
about 70% household demand and 93% of
community water demand was met.
A new plant constructed for the town has a
projected capacity 18,000 cubic meters per
day.
The Entebbe population has a daily per
capita water consumption 79 liters.
This amount is higher than the National per
capita consumption which is at 60 liters, but
is lower than international recommended at
150 liters (Population Reference Bureau,
1998)
ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES IN THE
MUNICIPALITY
1. Direct harvesting from the lake
2. Use of rain water
WATER SUPPLY CHALLENGES
1. Population growth
(increased demand for service). The population had
grown three fold in the Municipality between the 1960
and today.
2. Poor payment culture
The water service is not an exclusively prepaid service,
clients default on their payments.
3. High cost of energy,
electricity is the main source of power at the water plant
and is expensive.
4. Receding lake levels,
Lake levels drop bringing about new challenges to
water supply industry : extending in-take pipes
higher the costs of purification.
5. Water loss
Water lost before it is considered consumed :
illegal consumers, bursts and leakages,
(estimated water loss is at bout 19%).
6. Decentralized governance
Local councils have increased liability and strained
capacity;
7. Pollution at point of use,
water storage at point of use: water is kept
unclean vessels at individual premises
8. Isolated settlements
Villages of Kigungu Bunonko Villages are
isolated, the cost of rolling out water
infrastructure and maintenance is high as
the pipes are laid over distances where
there are no users.
9. Short term involvement of the Council
The council is usually involved at the time
of planning the water supply roll out. The
maintenance and supervision of the
network remains the responsibility of the
NWSC.
10. community ownership;
The community perception that the
infrastructure as they believe it belongs to
the government.
11. Cost of ‘FREE WATER’
ROLE OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL IN WATER
MANAGEMENT
The Local Governments Act (Cap.243),
outlines services of the Municipal Council
as being among others:
Oversee water supply;
1. Planning and coordination of water
supply;
2. Monitoring and evaluating the water
supply quantity and quality.
Opportunities that exist that could be exploited
to improve water use management
1. The vast Fresh Water Lake: the distance across
which water has to be drawn by the vendor is
short and could be reflected in the overall cost
of water supply.
2. Enabling political environment: the leaders in
the Municipality acknowledge the importance of
water to the community.
3. Public Private Partnerships initiated by Council:
The Council tries as much as possible to
complement stakeholder efforts in the water
industry
4. Fairly well sensitized community
The above mentioned factors are key to the
improved management of the water
resource endowment and there is need to
have greater stakeholder involvement
strategic focus in and ownership of the
water resource, however the issue of
having water extended to all the household
seems to still be the major issue