NWSC
Water is life
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is water quality?
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water relative to the intended use. Water quality is measured against specified National standards in relation to the WHO guidelines. These guidelines provide a framework for defining water that is safe to drink upon which individuals can make informed decisions.
Why do you need to get your drinking water tested?
There are many possible compromises to your drinking water quality. Common contaminants in water include; micro-organisms such as bacteria, inorganic contaminants such as metals and salts, organic chemical contaminants from industrial processes, pesticides and herbicides as well as radioactive material mainly from anthropogenic activities. Other causes may be soil and decaying matter in the gutters as well as algae in the piping systems.
These substances can potentially affect the physio-chemical and bacteriological quality of water hence directly or indirectly impacting on human health.Even if the water does look clear and doesn’t smell, you cannot be 100% sure that it is safe to drink. Therefore testing your water is the only way to find out about its quality and hence ensure safety for you and your family.
Brown or coloured water
Ideally, water is colourless and needs to be maintained that way. If you notice that the water you are receiving is anything but clear there could be a number of reasons for this. The most common is usually a burst pipe that lets dirt into the water line and straight to you. All this can usually be sorted by simply leaving the tap open for a while till the dirt is washed out of the pipes If however this doesn’t fix the problem, feel free to contact us, we are always available to help.
Do note that old plumbing too at times leads to a brownish colour. For this, we recommend that you clean your storage tank(s) regularly and have a plumber check for leaks and breaks in your pipes. You can also clean taps and shower heads to ensure clean and colourless water supply
Water with a smell
At times, the water coming out of your tap may have a chlorine smell. This is because chlorine is used in small amounts to treat our water and make it safe. It is usually not possible to smell it. However, in cases where maintanence work has been carried out, the levels may be higher and lead to a smell. This will however clear by itself.
Low water pressure
Pressure is what drives the water out of your tap or shower. However, at times you may notice that the water is barely coming out or in some cases, not flowing at all. If you notice this you can try out any of the following steps.
Check if the low pressure is all over the house/premises. If it is one location, there may be a blockage in the tap or pipes leading to it. For this, check the tap or plumbing for any sediments or dirt.
If the low pressure is all over the house, a number of issues may be responsible. For starters, check if your shut off valve, the tap that regulates water going through the meter, is fully open. Usually when it is turned half way, the pressure of the water reduces so turning it open should solve the issue. If this is not the case however, your low pressure may be caused by a leak in your plumbing. To find out, Record the meter reading at one time and check it after a few hours to see if the reading has changed. If your water usage has increased at all from your first recording, there's a good chance you have a leak that needs to be repaired by a plumbing professional. However make sure that during this process, no taps or water is being used as that would affect the results.
At times low water pressure may be caused due to peak usage. There are times of the day when water is used more and as such, it is important to pay attention to when water pressure fluctuates so as to plan effectively.
And remember, if you have any issues, please contact us toll free on 0800200977 & 0800 300 977 or visit the contact us page.
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Action |
When |
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Establishment of a model laboratory in Mbarara with aim of rolling out to all regions and areas |
FY 2014/2015 |
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Capacity for polymer testing enhanced |
FY 2014/2015 |
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Review of the water quality monitoring plan |
FY 2014/2015 |
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Accreditation of Gaba Laboratory |
June 2018 |
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6 regional/sub regional labs equipped and adequately staffed |
FY 2014/2015 |
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At least 42 area labs equipped and operational |
June 2018 |
The following are, among others, the key beneficiaries of our external services:
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Private water operators and Water authorities
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Private sector (e.g. hotels and lodges)
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Consulting and Water Drilling companies
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Industries (e.g. fish processing, beverages, food processing, building & construction, manufacturing and health care)
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Government agencies, local councils and private Institutions (e.g. schools, colleges, and hospitals)
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Foreign missions
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Environmental bodies/authorities (e.g. National Environmental Management Authority)
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Farmers, individuals who own water tanks, bores and swimming pools, real estate.
The water qaulity department is carrying out a number of projects in its bid to ensure adequate service delivery to all customers.
Lake Victoria Monitoring (LVEMP II) Project
WQMD on behalf of NWSC coordinates the LVEMP II project, subcomponent of point source pollution control and prevention which focuses on curbing pollution due to wastewater discharges into Lake Victoria. Under this project continuous monitoring of pollution sources into Lake Victoria is ongoing and in line with this a number of laboratory equipments have been acquired. Also, in the same project, Kirinya wastewater stabilization ponds in Jinja will be overhauled and a new wastewater plant for Ggaba catchment is planned for.
That is why, whether one is constructing a new development or replacing an existing water supply, our engineering team is available and ready to guide one through and help one set up the connections, for our aspiration is to ensure excellent service in terms of water and sewerage management.
Customers have a variety of options with which to pay their water bills thus; all one has to do is choose what option is most suitable and convenient. Customers can now pay bills at whatever time of the day especially with the option of Mobile Money services. You can use M-sente, MTN mobile money, Orange money, Ezee money, Airtel money and PayWay.
With payment points spread widely across all customer locations, customers can easily make payments whenever, wherever. Please note that payments are nolonger accepted at National Water cash offices.
You can also pay at any of our partnering banks. These include Bank of Baroda, Bank of Africa, Barclays Bank, Cairo Bank, Centenary Bank, Citi-Bank, DFCU Bank, Diamond Trust, Eco Bank, Equity Bank, FIna Bank, Finance Trust Bank, KCB, Orient Bank, Post Bank, Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Tropical bank and UBA.
However, branch offices remain open for other water related issues like customer complaints, reconnections, reporting leaks, bursts, no water cases, etc.
At NWSC, we are aware that different customers have different needs and are bound to use our water and services differently. We therefore offer a range of tariffs made-to-order to each customer's activity, be it commercial, institutional or domestic.
Being able to know and select the right tariff is paramount in order for one to obtain the right and best value from our water and sewerage services.
Our tariffs comprise of;
Public standpipe: This tariff is applicable to individuals who strictly sell water to the community or rather the public.
Domestic: This tariff is a fixed annual charge which applies to residential properties and blocks thus basically homes.
Commercial: In the case of properties being used for commercial purposes such as student hostels, supermarkets, arcades, malls and also applicable in cases of construction, be it a home.
Institution: This tariff complements institutions like hospitals, schools and Government establishment.
NWSC Water and Sewerage rates are subject to annual indexation effective 1st July of every year, to protect it against the domestic Price Index, exchange rate, foreign price Index and electricity tariff (Energy charges).
The SSD currently operates two Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) in Bugolobi and Lubigi; the former being a conventional treatment plant while the latter is based on Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSP). Read More...