Masindi residents struggle as water shortage hits municipality
"Whenever the taps run dry, everyone rushes to the wells. The wells become overcrowded and accessing water becomes very difficult," Ronald said.
Masindi: Residents in several cells of Masindi Municipality are facing a severe water shortage that has persisted for the last three days, forcing many to spend hours at wells and other alternative water sources in search of water.
Since Friday, residents have been flocking to the few available water points across the town, while the scarcity has triggered a sharp increase in water prices. A 50-litre jerrycan of water now sells at Shs1,000, up from the usual Shs500.
Grace Ayebale, a resident of Nyangahya Cell, said the shortage has disrupted normal daily activities as residents spend long hours queuing for water.
“We have spent the last three days struggling to get water. Most of our time is spent in queues, making it difficult to carry out our daily activities,” Ayebale said.
Gerald Abitegeka, a resident of Western Cell, noted that while queues are relatively manageable during the day, they become much longer in the evening when school-going children join in fetching water.
“The situation gets worse in the evening because children returning from school also need water, which increases congestion at the available water sources,” Abitegeka explained.
Fred Kaija Ronald, a resident of Civic Cell, said residents face significant challenges whenever tap water becomes unavailable, forcing them to rely on overcrowded wells.
“Whenever the taps run dry, everyone rushes to the wells. The wells become overcrowded and accessing water becomes very difficult,” Ronald said.
Water vendors have also felt the impact of the shortage.
Robert Wabyoona, a water vendor, said the increased demand has pushed up prices, although congestion at water sources remains a major challenge, especially during the evening hours.
“Demand for water has gone up significantly, which has affected prices. However, the biggest challenge remains the congestion at collection points, particularly in the evenings,” Wabyoona said.
Lambert Tabu, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Area Manager for Masindi, attributed the shortage to technical faults at the Kiyanja Water Treatment Plant.
“We experienced a failure on the transmission main over the weekend, which disrupted water supply to several parts of the municipality. Our engineers have been working around the clock to restore the system,” Tabu said.
He added that the fault has since been rectified and residents should expect normal water supply to be fully restored by the end of tomorrow.
“The fault has been fixed, and we expect water supply to normalize fully by the end of tomorrow,” he assured.
The prolonged shortage has left many residents hoping for a quick restoration of services to ease the burden on households, businesses and institutions across the municipality.
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