Water Supply

Prevailing situation for Water Supply;

Arusha is supplied with water from three main sources namely; springs boreholes and a river. The location and their contribution to total water production are as follows:

  1. The spring sources include Olesha Masama springs along Themi River located 4km north ofthe City, Ngarendolu and Machare springs are located within the City and contributing 48% of water production.
  2. There are 16 boreholes located in the northern part of the City in Arumeru District and three boreholes located within the City area contributing 33% of water production and
  3. The Nduruma River located in the north of the City contributing 19% of water production.

Water production ranges between 35,000 and 45,000m3/day depending on season (dry or rainy season) while water demand is 93,270m3/day. This emphasizes the importance of additional water sources; hence it is our first priority activity.

The water distribution network up to 30th June, 2012 has a total length of 251.270km of pipeline with diameters ranging from 32mm (1½”) to 700mm (28”). The pipe materials are of cast iron (CI), ductile iron (DI), Polyvinyl Chloride (uPVC) and polythene (HDPE). Also there are water reservoirs with total capacity of 12,697.5m3, 28 break pressure tanks, 46 water kiosks and 59 stand pipes.

The present water supply coverage within the City is 44% as opposed to the former Municipal coverage which was 98.5%. The majority of the population where AUWSA water supply network has not yet reached uses their own sources. For safety purposes, water treatment is done using calcium hypochlorite and water quality monitoring is done on weekly basis by collecting samples from the distribution system and checked for free chlorine. By doing so the water quality is maintained within the required Tanzania Standards for potable water.