KAMPALA : Sanitation Status
Sanitation provision in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) is grossly deficient, as in most cities in sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are discharged to the environment without adequate treatment; this is likely to have major impacts on infectious disease burden and quality of life (Hutton et al. 2007). This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Kampala.
This page is part of the fully editable open-access reference source on the sanitation status of all major cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The resource considers the 40 urban agglomerations in sub-Saharan Africa with a current population of 1 million or more. To read some of the other 40 country profiles, go back tothe resource Homepage.
N.B These pages should be considered as incomplete provisional drafts, and contributions are actively requested from specialists with expert local knowledge of each specific city
Table of Contents
- Background information
- Water resources and supply: overview
- Sanitation access
- Sewerage system
- Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
- Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
- Sanitation in low-income districts
- Responsibility
- Sanitation masterplan?
- Sanitation financing
- Major investments and donor interventions
- Sources and further reading
- References
- Other City Profiles
Background information
Kampala is an urban agglomeration with a population of about 1.9 million people (Brinkhoff 2010). It is located on hilly terrain at an altitude of about 1300 m abovce sea level, on the north shore of Lake Victoria. Climate is tropical wet and dry (Köppen classification Aw). Flooding is frequent and severe (World Bank 2007, New Vision 2010b). Pollutant industrial activities include food-pocessing and textiles. There is significant agricultural activity within the urban area (Maxwell 1994). A large proportion of the population (40−70% according to AfDB 2006) lives in low-income informal settlements.
Water resources and supply: overview
Kampala’s formal water supply (production capacity currently 00,000 m3 per day) is drawn from Lake Victoria’s Inner Murchison Bay (Water-technology.net 2010); note that the sewerage system discharges to the same water body (see below), in a situation similar to that seen in Harare. Collignon & Vézina (2000) report the following access data for 1999, based on unspecified UNDP data: in-plot piped supply 36% of households, piped supply from community standpipe 5% of households, non-piped supply or water vendors 59% of households. AfDB (2006) reports that only about 17% of the population in informal settlements have safe water access.
Sanitation access
The sewerage system serves less than 10% of the population; other wealthy and middle-income households use septic tanks. AfDB (2006) describes sanitation conditions in informal settlements as appalling: “Land-tenure system and inappropriate technologies have led to the construction of very poor latrines (or no latrines at all)”. UN-Habitat (2006) reports access data for two informal settlements (Kivulu in Kagubube Parish and Kinataka in Mbuya I Parish): over 90% of people use unimproved pit latrines, and some residents resort to open defecation and plastic bags. Some informal settlements are also reported to be contaminated by the outflow from the communal septic tanks of large buildings, notably student hostels (AfDB 2006). Public toilets are also reported to be fairly widespread (WUP 2001, UN-Habitat 2006). Cholera outbreaks occur regularly (AfDB 2006, New Vision 2010a).
Sewerage system
As noted, less than 10% of the population is served by the sewerage system (AfDB 2008c), and the network is reported to be in a very poor state of repair (AfDB 2008a).
Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
No information. Certainly, septage management is a major problem in Kampala, with heavy dependence on low-quality pit latrines, often in waterlogged locations.
Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
The existing sewage treatment plant at Bugolobi discharges via a canal (the Navikubo Channel) to Lake Victoria’s Inner Murchison Bay. It is reported to have insufficient capacity and to be functioning very poorly (AfDB 2008c). The ongoing AfDB Kampala Sanitation Program (see below) aims to decommission the Bugolobi plant and construct a major new UASB plant in the Navikubo wetland area, another plant in the Kinawataka wetland area, and two sludge treatment plants in the Lubigi and Nakulongo wetland areas.
Sanitation in low-income districts
We are not aware of any detailed mapping of high-sanitation-need districts, or of any specific policy for sanitation improvement in informal settlements. However, AfDB (2006) provides a list of 10 parishes with most pressing water and sanitation requirements: in declining order of priority, these are Kisenyi II (Central Division), Ndeeba (Rubaga Division), Kagugube (Central Division), Kasubi (Rubaga Division), Katwe I (Makindye Division), Mbuya I (Nakawa Division), Nateete (Rubaga Divsision), Kanyana (Kawempe Division), Kyebando (Kawempe Division) and Bukesa (Central Division). Other informal settlements mentioned in this report (in some cases possibly sub-districts of the districts) already listed are Kivulu, Bwaise, Katwe-Kinyoro, Mulago, Kibuli, Naguru Godown, Soweto, Kitintale, Kalerwe, Kamwokya-Kifumbira, Nakulabye-Kiwuunya, Katanga, Namuwongo-Kikube Mutwe and Wabigalo. At least some of these settlements occupy low-lying swampy areas, and suffer regular flooding (AfDB 2006; see also Nuguwaba 2003). A specific situation analysis of two informal settlements (Kivulu in Kagubube Parish and Kinataka in Mbuya I Parish) is given by UN-Habitat (2006): this includes detailed information on the sanitation situation in these settlements.
Responsibility
There is no integrated responsibility for sewerage and onsite sanitation: sewerage and sewage treatment are the responsibility of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), while onsite sanitation (including faecal sludge management) is the responsibility of Kampala City Council (AfDB 2006). The World Bank (2008), in specific reference to water supply, notes that Uganda’s National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has a social mission to serve the poor, and that “NWSC has made efforts to connect and serve the poor more effectively (e.g. establishing the Urban Pro-Poor Branch, soliciting pro-poor donor programs) and currently serves about half of the poorest residents of Greater Kampala. But NWSC does not have strong financial incentives to build new connections for Kampala’s growing poorest residents without external funding. Firstly, many of these consumers buy water from NWSC at the social “tariff” which only covers O&M costs (both PWPs as well as yard taps shared by multiple families qualify for this lower tariff). Secondly, the amount of water consumed per capita by the poor is very low. Thirdly, because the poor have less consistent payment behaviour, this would require additional cost to maintain NWSC’s strong collections record (e.g. investment in pre-payment meters)”.
Sanitation masterplan?
A Kampala Sanitation Master Plan has reportedly been written (AfDB 206), but we have not been able to obtain a copy of this document. As noted above, the government has also produced a document entitled “Pro-poor strategy for the water and sanitation sector” (DWD 2006); however, this document does not offer detailed strategies, and makes little specific commitment to improving sanitation services in informal settlements.
Sanitation financing
No specific information at present, though information is probably available. [For comments on the challenges of financing water supply for the poor, see “Responsibility” above.
Major investments and donor interventions
Kampala is currently receiving major water and sanitation funding from donors including the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Union.
The AfDB’s “Kampala Sanitation Program”, approved in December 2008 and due to start in February 2010, is a major US$ 55m project reportedly focusing on improving sanitation in informal settlements. However, it remains unclear whether the project will have genuine pro-poor impact. The project webpage (AfDB 2008a) states that the project will involve rehabilitation and extension of Kampala’s sewerage system, construction of major new wastewater treatment facilities (including biogas generation), and parallel improvement of faecal sludge management in informal settlements; sewerage coverage will be increased from about 7% of the population to about 30%, mainly by increasing access of “the urban poor population, living in the informal settlements”. The only published documents currently available are a procurement notice (AfDB 2008b) and an environmental and social impact analysis (AfDB 2008c); both documents are discouraging in that they discuss only the major sewerage infrastructure, and make no mention of the putative pro-poor interventions in informal settlements. Indeed, AfDB (2008c) states that the project’s main aim is to improve water quality in Lake Victoria’s Inner Murchison Bay. It would be of great interest to obtain independent assessments of whether this major project is indeed serving informal settlements, whether through sewerage connection or through significant and effective investment in onsite sanitation and associated desludging infrastructure and services.
The AfDB’s “Implementation of an Integrated Project of Water & Sanitation Services for the Urban Poor in Kagugube Parish, Kampala” project was approved in December 2006 (AfDB 2006), reportedly started December 2007, and is reportedly ongoing. This is a 760,000€ project involving provision of piped water supply (communal standpipes) and subsidized on-site sanitation (at least 500, including at least 250 dry toilets) in four informal settlements (Kivulu 1, Kivulu 2, Kagubube and Kitamanyangamba) in Kagubube Parish. We do not currently have independent information on the progress of this project; it would certainly be of interest to have information on whether dry toilets have been used effectively.
The World Bank’s “OBA in Kampala - Water Connections for the Poor” project, approved May 2008 and nominally due to finalize in December 2011, aims to provide piped water supply (not sanitation) to
The World Bank’s “Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project”, approved in November 2007 and nominally due to finalize in December 2010, has no sanitation component but has reportedly allocated US$ 8.5m to stormwater drainage, in view of Kamapala’s severe flooding problems. We do not know to what extent this project will reduce flooding in low-income settlements.
Sources and further reading
Extensive documentation, particularly related to utilities management and issues such as tariffing, is available from RUWAS (Reform of the Urban Water and Sanitation Programme): http://www.ruwas.co.ug/ppp.html
National Water and Sewerage Corporation: http://www.nwsc.co.ug/
Kampala City Council does not currently have an active website.
References
AfDB (2000) Project Performance Evaluation Report: Uganda - Five urban centres water supply and sewerage rehabilitation project. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Evaluation-Reports/05188234-EN-UGANDA-5-URBAN-CENTERS-WATER-SUPPLY-AND-SEWE.PDF
AfDB (2006) Appraisal Report: Implementation of an Integrated Project of Water & Sanitation Services for the Urban Poor in Kagugube Parish, Kampala. http://www.africanwaterfacility.org/fileadmin/uploads/awf/projects-activities/APPRAISAL%20NWSC%2021.DEC.2006_0.PDF
AfDB (2008a) Kampala Sanitation Program. http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-operations/project-portfolio/project/p-ug-e00-008/
AfDB (2008b) Kampala Sanitation Program: General Procurement Notice. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-related-Procurement/30774546-EN-GPNUGANDASANITATION-12.PDF
AfDB (2008c) Uganda - Kampala Sanitation Programme: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/ADF-BD-IF-2008-144-EN-UGANDA-ESIA-KAMPALA-SANITATION-PROGRAMME.PDF
Brinkhoff T (2010) City Population. http://www.citypopulation.de
Collignon B & Vézina M (2000) Independent water and sanitation providers in African cities. WSP. http://www.partnershipsforwater.net/psp/tc/TC_Tools/010B_Indep%20providers%20Africa.pdf
DWD [Directorate of Water Development] (2006) Pro-poor strategy for the water and sanitation sector. http://www.ruwas.co.ug/reports/Pro-poor%20Strategy.pdf
Hutton G, Haller L & Bartram J (2007) Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. http://www.irc.nl/page/38443
Kulabako NR, Nalubega M & Thunvik R (2007) Study of the impact of land use and hydrogeological settings on the shallow groundwater quality in a peri-urban area of Kampala, Uganda. Science of The Total Environment 381(1-3): 180-199. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.03.035. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V78-4NT57J3-1&_user=121707&_coverDate=08%2F01%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1350225563&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000009958&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=121707&md5=0e76ea2f7c0b55c7afece53d2a90ac1d
Maxwell D (1994) Internal struggles over resources, external struggles for survival: urban women and subsistence household production. Urban Agriculture Notes. http://www.cityfarmer.org/danmax.html
New Vision (2010a) “Water costs higher in Kampala slums”. News report 8 April 2010. http://washafrica.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/uganda-water-costs-higher-in-kampala-slums/
New Vision (2010b) “Floods hit Kampala City Suburbs”. News report 9 May 2010. http://allafrica.com/stories/201005100171.html
Nuguwaba A (2003) Urban poverty and environmental health: the case of Kampala City, Uganda. http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22Urban+poverty+and+environmental+health%3A+the+case+of+Kampala+City%2C+Uganda%22&btnG=Search+Books
UNEP/GRID-Arendal (2002) Water availability in Africa. UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/water_availability_in_africa.
UN-Habitat (2006) Situation Analysis of Informal Settlements in Kampala http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=2335
Water-technology.net (2010) Kampala Water Supply and Sanitation Expansion Programme, Uganda. Undated web report, consulted 27 May 2010. http://www.water-technology.net/projects/kampala/
World Bank (2007) Project Appraisal Document: Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project. http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?menuPK=51447259&pagePK=51351007&piPK=64675967&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=51351213&theSitePK=40941&entityID=000310607_20071019094217&searchMenuPK=51351213&theSitePK=40941
World Bank (2008) Project Appraisal Document: OBA in Kampala - Water Connections for the Poor. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000334955_20090708041629
WUP [Water Utility Partnership] (2001) Public toilet operator, Kampala, Uganda. http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/waterandsanitation/resources/caseExamples/narrative-form.html
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