Shs270m Kalangala solar water pump running below capacity
Unsafe. Residents fetch water at Bufumira Landing Site , on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kalangala District on November 10. A government safe water project that was rolled out on selected islands six months ago remains non-functional. PHOTO BY SYLVESTER SSEMUGENYI
What you need to know:
- Kalangala District has 84 islands widely scattered on Lake Victoria. But district officials say it is only Buggala Main Island that has a wide safe water coverage of at least 70 per cent.
A safe water project that government rolled out on selected islands six months ago remains nonfunctional.
Commissioned in March, the Shs270m Solar Water pump under the rural water project that was established by Kalangala District Local Government has failed to serve the intended purpose. The pump can only serve a distance of 1km yet the safe water coverage target extends to a distance of 4km, covering a school and communities on Bufumira Island.
Mr Willy Lugolobi, the Kalangala District chairperson, on Wednesday said they need an extra Shs19m to buy a bigger pump that can serve Ssemawundo Landing Site, Bufumira Health Centre III and Bufumira Primary School.
“It is unfortunate that the solar water pump we had anticipated to serve a population of more than 2,000 people is now idle. The district engineering team recently explained that the water pump cannot serve the original design because it is small,” Mr Lugolobi said.
He added: “We have already reached out to Davis & Shirtliff Company and now wait to buy the heavy duty pump once we realise the funds.”
The district had planned to roll out a safe water programme to selected Islands of Bukasa, Bufumira, Kitobo and Serinya where four water stations would be constructed.
“We are now replacing the hand boreholes with the solar-powered pumps because they are easier to manage and serve a bigger population without breaking down all the time,” Mr Lugolobi explain.
However, the situation has left many residents to trek long distances in search of clean water
Residents say...
Mr Enock Peter Luliika, 58, a resident of Misenyi Village, in Mufumira Sub-county, Kalangala District, said they are using untreated lake water.
At Mufumira Health Centre III, both the caregivers and patients struggle to get clean water at the facility.
“Since the breakdown of the water pump, we are going through a very tough situation as inpatients can’t even get clean water to drink.,” a one Matovu, a caregiver, said in an interview.
Mr Robert Munaab, the Bufumira Sub-county chairperson, said: “I reported the situation while attending the recent district budget conference in September but up to now we haven’t received any positive response”.
Mr Robert Kizito, the chairperson of Ssemawundo Landing Site, said he will mobilise the community to storm the district headquarters.
“We are approaching holidays and are scared of our children drowning in the lake. Before this piped water, we had a shallow well which they destroyed to install the pump. We shall demonstrate in case they don’t repair the system,” he said.
Statistics
Kalangala District has 84 islands widely scattered on Lake Victoria. But district officials say it is only Buggala Main Island that has a wide safe water coverage of at least 70 per cent. The district chairperson, Mr Willy Lugolobi, confirmed this to the Daily Monitor.
The 2014 National Housing and Population Census estimates Kalangala population at 54,293. The households with access to piped water were estimated at 3,810 (19.3 per cent) of the total population of Kalangala District.
