Ewura issues ultimatum over excessive water loss
What you need to know:
- Ewura has set June 30, 2024 as the deadline for water utilities that lose more than 20 percent of the water they produce to cut the losses to below 20 percent.
Dar es Salaam. Poor implementation of water loss reduction strategies has led to an increase in water loss to 37.2 percent, according to the latest Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura) performance report.
Ewura has set June 30, 2024 as the deadline for water utilities that lose more than 20 percent of the water they produce to cut the losses to below 20 percent.
The water utilities performance review report for the financial year 2022/23 released recently shows that water loss increased by 1.7 percentage points from 35.5 percent in 2021/22.
According to the regulator, the l37.2 percent water loss goes against the guidelines for reducing water loss which require water authorities to ensure that losses do not exceed 20 percent of water produced.
The report identifies said water authorities in Mahenge, Arusha, Mpanda, Vwawa-Mlowo, Makonde, Mpwapwa, Itumba-Isongole, Ifakara, Kiomboi, Rombo, HTM, Ushirombo, and MugangoKiabakari, experienced water loss of more than 50 percent.
It is only in Kishapu, Maganzo, Busega, Nzega, Kashwasa, Mwanhuzi, Kasulu, Rujewa, Igunga, and Kahama where water losses remained below 20 percent.
“The report intends to provide to stakeholders including customers, the government, financiers, and development cooperation partners, clear and transparent information on the technical, commercial, and financial performance of water authorities,” Ewura says in its report signed by board chairman Mark Mwandosya.
Improved water supply, sanitation, and water resources management boost national economic growth and consequently contribute to poverty eradication, the report says.
Due to that, the regulator in its recommendations has given errant authorities until the end of the current financial year to take appropriate action to ensure that loss of water does not exceed the acceptable minimum of 20 percent.
“Those steps include preparing and implementing strategies to reduce water loss according to the guide of Ewura to prepare mitigation strategy water loss to annual water authorities 2021.”
The report says the guidelines for reducing water loss insist on preparing a balance sheet to measure the levels of water loss by the guidelines of the International Association of Water Resources (IWA) to know the areas of water loss on those water authorities.
A resident of Mbezi Luis, in Dar es Salaam, Mr Baraka Mwasenga, said the people are not getting water because of leaks in various areas, adding authorities that have found such challenges to ensure it works because people pay bills but do not receive services.
“Water service is important for the well-being of the people, so when it is lacking due to the negligence of those authorities, it weakens the people to continue their development activities,” he stressed.
In another development, the report reveals that the total revenue collected from services of sanitation and sewage and other activities of water authorities has dropped to Sh393.34 billion from Sh401.84 billion collected in the previous years.
During the year of review, the availability of services unsatisfactory for the purity of the environment, the number of people who get sanitation services in the environment from the infrastructure of sewage was only 11 percent.
“This level is still down 100 percent which is acceptable.”
