The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has launched an aggressive, six-month emergency intervention dubbed K-FLOWS to rapidly stabilize water supply for thousands of households across Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono.
Running from November 2026 to April 2027, the Kampala Water Forward-Looking and Optimisation of Water Supply (K-FLOWS) program directly answers a directive issued by the Minister of Water and Environment in October 2026 to eliminate persistent dry taps.
NWSC’s major treatment plants at Ggaba and Katosi produce more than enough water to meet overall demand. However, severe structural weaknesses in the underground network prevent water from traveling efficiently to households, leaving some communities with dry taps or fewer than 6 to 12 hours of water a day.
Systemic issues restricting water movement include:Undersized pipes, pumping and storage limitations, and massive water leaks,gridlock and pipeline damages caused by ongoing road construction and forced water rationing due to
pipeline limits, NWSC has been forced to deliberately shut off water in some areas every morning just so places like Matugga, Mutungo, and Kyengera can receive a share.
The K-FLOWS operation aims to inject an extra 9,370 cubic meters of water daily into the network by executing three major targeted interventions:
Expanding network configurations to permanently end the need for daily forced water rationing,Upgrading undersized pipes, optimizing distribution networks, and repairing major leaks and drilling
new groundwater boreholes and building local supply schemes so severely affected neighborhoods do not rely entirely on the main pipelines.
The aggressive program attacks the water deficit through bulk water transfers and network optimization, split across two immediate execution windows:
Two massive interconnections—the Katosi–Mutungo Water Supply Stabilisation Project and the Ggaba III–Muyenga Bypass—will be completed by the end of December 2026. This will instantly lock in stable supply for 26,842 customer accounts across:
Rubaga, Lungujja, and Makindye,Nateete, Busega, and Bulenga,Kakiri and Nansana
Brand new motorized boreholes and local network expansions will be completed to secure at least 18 hours of daily supply for Kikokiro, Kitagobwa, and Bukasa,Mengo, Kasenge, and Kazinga,Maya, Namungoona, and Nalumunye
NWSC is drastically pivoting how it measures operational success. Managing Director Eng. Dr. Silver Mugisha announced that the utility will no longer evaluate itself based on routine tasks, but on true customer impact.
Areas currently suffering from severe rationing will immediately see supply raised to at least 12 hours of guaranteed daily supply.
Most targeted areas are being optimized to receive 18 to 24 hours of continuous, high-pressure water daily.
“It is not about pipes laid or money spent. It is about how many hours of water our customers actually receive, at the right pressure, every day,” Dr. Mugisha stated, demanding immediate, visible field results.
K-FLOWS acts as an immediate survival bridge before NWSC completes its massive Package 2B infrastructure investment in August 2027.
While Package 2B will eventually bring a colossal 71 kilometers of primary transmission mains, new booster stations at Kungu and Kabulengwa, and massive new reservoirs at Kanyanya, Kabulengwa, and Mutungo, K-FLOWS ensures that local distribution pipelines are cleared and structurally ready to handle those heavy upcoming water volumes without bursting.
To enforce absolute transparency, every single project under the K-FLOWS framework has been assigned a specific accountable officer with strict service delivery targets. NWSC has pledged that no project will be declared successful until independent field assessments and direct consumer feedback verify that the water is actively flowing.
