01
About the Utility
National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) is responsible for water supply and sanitation services in Uganda’s large towns, and it implements World Bank-financed works in line with that mandate. It operates under close Government oversight: the Minister of Water and Environment approves its tariff structure, which is adjusted periodically for changes in input costs, and the Ministry publishes a regulator performance scorecard for the Corporation. The Ministry’s 2023 Annual Programme Performance Report put the population NWSC serves in large towns at approximately 18 million, with estimated service coverage of 78% in FY2022/23. Operations are organised around Kampala Water and the Central, Eastern, Northern and Western & South Western regions.
02
Water System
Water production reached 176 million cubic metres in FY2023/24, while billed sales grew to 108.2 million cubic metres and Kampala Water alone supplied 104.1 million. The gap between water produced and water billed is the main operating constraint: non-revenue water was 33.9% across the Corporation, and Kampala Water’s rate was markedly higher than that of any regional area. Drinking-water quality is consistently strong, with bacteriological compliance meeting its 100% target, overall compliance with national standards above target, and no Escherichia coli recorded at any Kampala network monitoring point in the September week sampled in each year since 2023.
Water production
NWSC water production, million m³, FY2015/16–FY2023/24 (financial years ending 30 June)
Reported actuals from the 'Water Production (Million m3)' KPI row of NWSC's integrated annual reports.
Sources: NWSC Integrated Annual Reports FY 2020/21 and FY 2023/24, key performance indicator tables.03
Wastewater System
Sewerage is a smaller but closely scrutinised part of NWSC’s mandate, and both the sewer network and its customer base have expanded. Effluent quality has improved markedly: average compliance with discharge standards was 41.7% in FY2018/19, and by FY2023/24 it had reached 80.9%, comfortably above target. Regulatory exposure nevertheless remains. The Auditor General’s 2024 follow-up audit of sewerage management found that NWSC had not secured valid effluent discharge permits for 15 sewage treatment facilities, and that effluent from the Mbarara, Masindi and Hoima plants still failed faecal coliform standards.
04
Investment & Priorities
NWSC’s resource envelope grew by 90% in the five years to FY2024/25, and its Corporate Plan projects UGX 8,156 billion of resources through FY2028/29, with donors expected to be the largest external source. Actual delivery is concentrated in two programmes. Spending on SCAP 100 had reached UGX 490.83 billion by FY2023/24, funded by both Government and NWSC’s own resources. NWSC also implements the large-towns component of the World Bank-supported Integrated Water Management and Development Project, with works under way in Adjumani, Gulu and Mbale.
05
Key Challenges
- Reducing non-revenue water, above all in Kampala, toward the plan’s 28% target for 2030.
- Delivering growth toward 1.3 million water connections while sustaining drinking-water compliance.
- Securing effluent discharge permits and bringing failing sewage treatment plants up to standard.
- Protecting cash flow as signed-off Government arrears reached UGX 72 billion by June 2023.