Water supply and sanitation in Rwanda

Water supply and sanitation in Rwanda is characterized by a clear government policy and significant donor support. In response to poor sustainability of rural water systems and poor service quality, in 2002 local government in the Northern Byumba Province contracted out service provision to the local private sector in a form of public–private partnership. Support for public-private partnerships became a government policy in 2004 and locally initiated public-private partnerships spread rapidly, covering 25% of rural water systems as of 2007. In urban areas, the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) is in charge of water supply. In March 2015, the government signed a 27-year contract with a private company to invest $75 million in order to provide 40,000 cubic meters/day of bulk water from a wellfield next to the Nyabarongo River to the capital Kigali. It is the first contract of this type in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Access

Level and trend

Figures on access to water and sanitation vary depending on the source of information, apparently in part because different definitions may have been used for access to an improved water source and improved sanitation. The fact that many rural water systems are not functioning properly makes it also difficult to estimate effective access to improved water supply. The following table compares access to water supply according to various sources, highlighting the difficulty to obtain reliable data on the change in access to water supply because of different definitions used. The data appear to indicate that access decreased over time, while in the same period significant investments were undertaken in rural water supply. The government's 2002 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper acknowledges that indeed "sustained access to potable water sources has probably declined in rural areas" since 1995. A main reason is poor maintenance and insufficient cost recovery, leading to the breakdown of systems shutting down water supply's, in particular those relying on pumping. Table: Access to an improved source of water supply according to various sources

According to both the 2000 Multi-Indicator Survey and the 2000 Demographic and Health Survey, access to an improved source of water supply was 91% in urban areas and 67% in rural areas. According to the same source, access to adequate sanitation was 54% in urban areas and 37% in rural areas. According to calculations based on data from the 2002 census, access to an improved source of water supply was 80% in urban areas and 67% in rural areas, including in the definition of improved source house connections, yard connections, public standposts, protected wells and protected springs. If figures were comparable, this would indicate a decline in access in urban areas and a stagnation in rural areas. The following map shows access to an improved source of water supply by districts and towns according to the 2002 census: Map of access to an improved source of water supply According to the 2005 Integral Household Living Conditions Survey, however, 66% of the urban population and 57% of the rural population had access to an improved source of drinking water. With respect to adequate sanitation, access was estimated at only 10% in urban areas and 8% in rural areas.) If the figures were comparable, this would imply a massive decrease in access to water and sanitation in both urban and rural areas over the preceding five years. However, according to a World Bank report, access to rural water supply in Rwanda increased from 41% in 2001 to 55% in 2005. The 2005 figure thus is roughly in line with the figures of the 2005 Integral Household Living Conditions Survey. According to the government, access to water supply in rural areas increased significantly in only two years from 57% in 2005 to 71% in 2007. According to the 2008 Demographic and Health Survey 60% of the population had access to an improved water source, broken down by 73% in urban areas and 57% in rural areas. The JMP estimates based on one national survey conducted in 1992 and 12 national surveys conducted between 1998 and 2008 that access to an improved water source declined from 66% in 1995 to 65% in 2010. The decline was most marked in urban areas – from 91% to 76%. The Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation of WHO and UNICEF estimated access to an improved water source in Uganda in 2011 at 71% and access to improved sanitation at 64%.

Impact of lack of access Lack of access to water supply and sanitation has significant health impacts. In addition, it imposes a significant burden on women and girls who have to carry water. For instance, more than one in five households in Umutara is more than an hour away from its water source. This has implications for the quality of women's and girls' lives, their economic productivity and their access to education. Even where people statistically do have access to an improved water source such as a communal borehole that in some cases is shared by up to 175 families, they sometimes have to wait for more than four hours before they can get water.

Infrastructure Water infrastructure in Rwanda consisted of 15 urban and about 796 rural water systems in 2002. Urban water systems are fed by water from 17 water treatment plants. Rural water systems feed mostly standpipes. Handpumps using groundwater and managed springs provide water separately from water systems. Some rural water systems are large and complex. For example, in 2001 there were 50 water systems that spanned more than one district and 10 water systems that spanned more than one province. The largest one serves 120,000 users in villages several miles apart. Although these systems are "piped," this typically means that water is distributed to water points in the village where users must go to retrieve water. Water Infrastructure

Source: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2002, p. 51 and p. 25, quoting the 2001 inventory of rural water supply systems Despite favorable rainfall, little use is made of rainwater harvesting, except by a few health centers and churches. Concerning sanitation, only about 15% of urban wastewater is collected through sewers. As far as sanitation in institutions is concerned, only 20% of primary schools in both rural and urban areas have latrines. The situation in secondary schools, prisons, health centers and markets is also poor.

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