Clean water scarcity forces Rutsiro residents to walk an hour for access

By The Inspirer.

Residents of Rushikiri Village, Mageragere Cell, Mushubati Sector in Rutsiro District are grappling with severe clean water shortages, forcing them to embark on a one-hour journey to fetch safe drinking water. They are now urging authorities to provide a nearby public water source to ease their daily struggles.

Currently, residents fetch water from a location known as Ntindo ya Kazibaziba, near Mushubati Hospital, in Rarankuba Village. The long distance and lack of closer alternatives leave them with no choice but to rely on distant sources, as nearby streams are unsuitable for consumption.

One local resident shared their plight with Imvaho Nshya, saying, “When you send a child to fetch water, they might end up missing school. At times, they get delayed or encounter stronger individuals who take advantage of them, leaving you to wait in vain.”

Another resident added, “The journey to fetch water takes a full hour for a strong person. For someone like me who is tired, it’s impossible. As a result, we often resort to using contaminated water from lower streams, boiling it before use, but visible dirt remains. If authorities could provide clean water, they would be solving a major issue we have long suffered from.”

The crisis has also raised health concerns, with locals reporting frequent waterborne diseases due to consuming unclean water. “Our biggest problem here is the lack of water. Even the few nearby wells have dried up. We call upon our leaders to establish a public water supply because living without access to clean water exposes us to constant illness,” said another resident.

Responding to the issue, Rutsiro District’s Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development, Emmanuel Uwizeyimana, acknowledged the problem and assured that efforts are underway to distribute available water resources more effectively.

“We have implemented a water distribution system to ensure that more residents get access. Additionally, ongoing projects like the Kivu Belt water system in Karongi District will soon supply water to some of our residents as a priority,” he stated.

In September 2024, the Rutsiro District Vice Mayor for Social Affairs, Marie Chantal Umuganwa, revealed that only 50% of the district’s population had access to clean water.

According to Rwanda’s Five-Year National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), by 2029, all households should have access to clean water, with a maximum distance of 200 meters in urban areas and 500 meters in rural areas.