Uganda: New Katosi water treatment plant in final stages

Kampala’s 240 million litres-per-day new Katosi water treatment plant is in its completion stages – according to National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) of Uganda.

The Katosi water water treatment plant is aimed at improving water supply in Kampala and its surrounding municipalities, a project termed as urgent to the people of Uganda by NWSC Managing Director, Dr. Eng Silver Mugisha.

While visiting the project in June this year, Eng. Mughisha warned against using Covid-19 as an excuse for delaying the project. He urged the contractor to work with resilience and to mobilise effectively to ensure the success of the project that will add the much needed 160 million litres of water per day to Kampala. “Let’s be scientific in our construction during this period” he said.

The ongoing Katosi water project has the capacity to supply 240 million litres per day. Phase 1 of the project will produce 160 million litres of water per day.

According to Eng. Mugisha, NWSC currently produces 240million litres of water from Ggaba which is not enough to meet the peak demand of 300 million litres per day in Metropolitan Kampala.

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“With the additional 160 million litres of water per day from Katosi, we shall have 400 million litres which will meet and exceed the water demand of Kampala city by February 2021,” he said.

According to Mr. Sam Apedel, the Public Relations Manager at NWSC, test-pumping for Katosi water project will begin in December 2020 as the project completion is aimed in the first quarter of 2021.

In June, NWSC reported that civil works were over 95% complete and a 55km pipeline from Katosi, Nsumba, Mukono, Seeta, Namungongo, Naalya to Naguru was over 80% complete with the focus being on electro mechanical works set for completion by early 2021.

GKW Consult GmbH in association with Alliance Consultants Ltd. was contracted by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) to deliver the project. According to the consultant, the project stalled for some weeks at it was forced to close the site as a result of material loading delays at Mombasa and cross border challenges.

The new Plant will also house; A 500m offshore abstraction pipeline into Lake Victoria, a scada system that will be integrated with the existing NWSC installations, a modern laboratory to enhance water quality monitoring and management, a mechanical workshop, a compact wastewater treatment plant, a solid waste handling and incineration facility, a modern staff housing estate with modern amenities and recreation facilities.

From the plant, water will be pumped to the new Nsumba reservoirs of 40 million litres capacity through a 9.5km bulk DN1400mm pipeline. The water will thereafter gravitate to Kampala through a 55km DN1400mm bulk pipeline. The Project also entails construction of a 15 million litre reservoir and a booster station.

NWSC is also planning a new treatment plant along the shores of Lake Victoria at Kigo, to boost piped water supply to about six districtsin Kampala South, and a faecal sludge treatment facility to increase sanitation and waste management in those areas. The project will increase the Kampala-Entebbe corridor water supply by 135 million litres per day to meet the growing demand for services along Entebbe road.