The National Water and Sewerage Corporation’s commitment to providing sustainable, cost-effective water and sewerage services while prioritizing stakeholder trust has, and always will be key in all aspects of the corporation’s endeavors. It is therefore no wonder that the Managing Director, Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha, alongside the General Manager of Kampala Water, Eng. Mahmood Lutaaya in a quest to revolutionize water management practices, set out on a benchmarking, brainstorming, and fact-finding mission with Dutch Water Operators, Vitens Water Utility.
Aimed at combating the persistent challenge of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and enhancing metering accuracy, the two parties kicked off the discussion earlier today, at the Vitens Water Utility Headquarters in Utrecht-Netherlands, with a series of enlightening sessions. As is expected of the Water Utility Giant of Africa, the NWSC entourage guided on a meticulous crafting of the prior mentioned presentations and proposed solutions, to align with NWSC’s mission and vision, with actionable solutions.
NRW, a longstanding dark cloud, demands innovative measures, and NWSC is determined to rise to the occasion with Vitens’ proposed Smart metering presentation during the initial session, expertly facilitated by Eng. Edwin Blaauwgeers. With a focus on precision and efficiency, the relevance of smart meters in ensuring accurate metering and billing, took center stage as Eng. Blaauwgeers dissected the intricacies of software management and maintenance protocols, towards achieving enhanced operational effectiveness.
Amidst the discourse, Dr. Eng. Silver posed a critical question: How could smart meters mitigate meter bypassing and illegal water usage? The response given highlighted the proactive nature of smart meters, swiftly alerting the corporation to potential theft attempts and safeguarding against meter accuracy tampering. Transparency as a perk of the meters was pointed out, stating that customers are empowered to access their consumption, metering, and billing data, so stakeholder trust would definitely be secured.
The presentation was applauded however, Dr. Eng. Mugisha emphasized the importance of tailoring technological solutions to meet NWSC’s unique challenges with efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, transparency, and accountability, as guiding principles. As the dialogue continued, the NWSC entourage gathered invaluable insights, from the significance of thinking big but starting small, to the vital role of skilled personnel in implementation.
Notably, if at all the system is embraced, the NWSC Kampala Water service area will be the testing field for the initial rollout.
