KASESE: Kasese Municipality and surrounding areas have identified River Kyanzutsu in Kasese District as an additional source of water to address water scarcity in Kasese Municipality and surrounding areas.
The municipality has been facing a scarcity of water for the past three months. The NWSC Manager for Kasese, Peter Ebwaat, is hopeful that the new water source will produce about 4 million litres daily of the minimum required 5 million litres for consumers in Kasese town and its surroundings.
Ebwaat attributes the water shortage to the severe dry spell that has seen a sharp fall in water volumes in major rivers.
Ebwati says that the water supply has been reduced by nearly half from 3700 cubic metres in the last three months to less than 2400 cubic metres per day. One cubic metre is equivalent to a thousand liters.
The NWSC has also put up interventions, including the construction of the Kasese-Kihalimu hill water reservoir and the construction of a booster station at Tamangalo in Kasese municipality.
Moses Kule, a resident of Kilembe quarter, says it has been about a month since the area has experienced unstable water supply with water mainly coming at night while the taps remain dry during the day.
He says that the inconsistencies in the water supply have caused the price of water to shoot up to between 800 and 1,200 shillings for a 20-liter jerrican, which most people cannot afford.
Since the scarcity of water, it is now common to find people, especially women and children, queuing up in the middle of the night to fetch water in areas of Kilembe quarters, Habitant, Mumbuzi, Nyakasanga, Kisanga, and Acholi Quarters, among others.
