Is it time to rethink NWSC’s success story?

I reside in Naalya, and one of the things synonymous with this area, is, the intermittent supply of water.

For a newcomer in Naalya, they would be mistaken to think that National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) rations water. I used to think otherwise, and have always held NWSC among the most efficient public utility firms in Africa.

However, last week’s incident invited me to a rethink of NWSC’s services. Why would water supply to Naalya be intermittent? Considering that this area is connected to the Katosi line with a capacity of 160 million litres per day.

With this Katosi project, among the other deliverables, was the reservoir at Ssonde Hill and a Booster station at Namugongo. Why is it that this project has not resulted into a regular water supply in Naalya?

It cannot be an issue of storage, neither can it be an issue of pressure. Is it time to ask if the Katosi water treatment plant (Katosi WTP) running at full capacity? What is the plant efficiency of the Katosi WTP?

In 2024, the NWSC Water Herald noted that despite Katosi’ 160 million litre capacity, only 55 per cent of this was being utilized owing to distribution challenges. On this, I agree that distribution will always be the constraint in every production/manufacturing/transport chain.

For example, in electricity sector, distribution is also the constraint. Just as with manufacturing, the last mile becomes the constraint. But this issue of distribution doesn’t explain Naalya’s intermittent supply.

It’s close to both the booster pump station and the reservoir at Ssonde. Why would it be such a magical affair to have a continuous distribution of water to Naalya? On October 16, 2025, the first message came in from NWSC social media platforms indicating that there were emergency works at the Katosi WTP.

Despite this, no official statement has been released by NWSC. Doesn’t the public have a right to know what kind of emergency was being handled? Why has it taken this long? Is the rectification permanent or a short-term measure to enable supply in the interim?

Why would a plant that was commissioned recently not guarantee a stable supply to areas that were already connected? NWSC is telling us its clients an incomplete story. As a NWSC client, shouldn’t one expect better?

An interactive dashboard where I get to see the quality results of my area. Currently, NWSC shares monthly quality reports of random sampling points. The points sampled in one month are never the same as those sampled in the subsequent.

Comparative results over time thus become a hurdle. This year, NWSC announced that non-revenue-water had costed them Shs 54.9 billion. Again, who bears this cost? Does this also imply that those already billed are bearing some of this cost of unbilled water?

Perhaps one of these days, NWSC needs to reach out to its customers and give them a full story. Why is it rocket science to get water to a home in Naalya in 2025?

Why have many apartment owners been forced to drill their own water since they can’t keep paying for water bowsers in times of water scarcity? And perhaps, one of these days, one ought to rethink NWSC’s success story. The water story doesn’t pour out the way it’s being supplied.

The author is a concerned citizen