Rwanda targets halving water losses to 15% by 2028

By The Inspirer.

Rwanda plans to cut water losses caused by leaks from about 30% to 15% by 2028 as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of its water supply system, Infrastructure Minister Damien Murwanashyaka has said.

Speaking before the Senate, Murwanashyaka said the government has already begun implementing measures to reduce water losses, including expanding the water distribution network, rehabilitating aging pipelines and deploying advanced leak detection technology.

“Our target is to reduce water losses to 15% within the next two years,” he said.

The technology will enable continuous monitoring of the water distribution network, allowing leaks to be detected and repaired more quickly, he added.

Senators raised concerns that nearly a third of the country’s treated water fails to reach consumers because of leaks in the distribution system, urging the government to accelerate the use of modern technologies to address the problem.

Murwanashyaka noted that water losses in many developed countries range between 5% and 10%, saying Rwanda aims to gradually reach similar levels of efficiency.

Under the Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), which covers the 2024–2029 period, Rwanda plans to nearly double its daily treated water production capacity from 343,000 cubic metres to 668,000 cubic metres.

The government also aims to build 4,600 kilometres of new water pipelines and rehabilitate 432 kilometres of non-functional pipelines before the end of the programme to improve water service delivery nationwide.