Written by Ivan Tekakwo
Gulu May 07, 2022 – The water supply woes of Gulu City and surrounding areas are going to be history as National Water and Sewerage Corporation is taking practical steps to boost water supply.
In the past, Gulu City has faced water scarcity in the dry season, given the limited water resources and the rapidly increasing demand for water.
Gulu gets its water from Oyitino dam and underground water delivered by motorized boreholes. Daily demand for water in Gulu City is over 10 million litres. Supply drops to 7 million litres during prolonged dry spells.
Short to mid-term solutions
Prolonged drought and increased temperatures perennially lead to a reduction in water levels at Oyitino dam. Six years ago, Oyitino dam dried up completely causing an acute water shortage for weeks. This prompted NWSC to take measures to increase water productivity and reliability.
NWSC drilled six boreholes with a daily combined production of 2.1 million litres of water per day. NWSC also implemented the Integrated Programme to Improve the Living Conditions (Phase 1) in Gulu co-financed by KFW and the World Bank. The achievements included the increase in the storage capacity of Oyitino Dam, increase in the pumping capacity from the dam by 10 million litres per day, extensions of 20km of water network in addition to over 30km of old and aging pipelines among others.
Longterm solution (Karuma Option):
Under phase 2 of the project, NWSC has started work to get water from the River Nile in Karuma. This will be a more sustainable and reliable solution to the water supply needs of Gulu City whose borders have recently been expanded. The project comprises the following;
- Construction of a new water intake along the River Nile with an abstraction capacity of 30 million litres per day. The civil works are complete awaiting electro-mechanical works
- Construction of a water treatment plant at Karuma with production capacity of 30 million litres per day in phases up to the year 2040.
- Construction of a water reservoir with a capacity of 5 million litres alongside the existing one.
All the above work is being undertaken with financial support from KFW.
A 70.5km transmission pipeline from Karuma to Gulu shall be laid to deliver water to Gulu and supply all the towns along the 70.05km stretch. This component of the project is being implemented with financial support from the World Bank.
The project launched early in March will benefit approximately 484,000 people in Gulu City and surrounding areas Koro Abili, Bobi, and Palenga in Omoro District, Kamdini, and Minakulu in Oyam district and Karuma to access clean and safe water and is expected to be completed in June 2024.
Speaking at the launch of the Karuma Option in March 2022, the MD of NWSC Dr, Eng. Silver Mugisha promised that water scarcity in Gulu and surrounding areas will become history. He said the corporation was working on a supply horizon that would help meet the water needs of the people up to 2040.
He said NWSC would ensure that the project would be finished in time and within cost.
