Karenge Drinking Water Supply System

Karenge Drinking Water Supply System (KDWSS), also Karenge Water Supply System is a water intake, purification, and distribution system in Rwanda. The system supplies water to parts of the capital city of Kigali and the neighboring Rwamagana District.

Location
The water treatment and distribution facility is located in the lakeside community of Karenge, Rwamagana District, in the Eastern Province of Rwanda, on the shores of Lake Mugesera, approximately 50 km, by road, southeast of the city of Kigali, the national capital.

Overview
KDWSS was established in 1975 with processing capacity of 3840 m3 every day. In 1985, that capacity was increased to 7200 m3 daily. In 2008, daily output was increased to 12000 m3. As of October 2020, the system produced 15000 m3 of drinkable water every day, of which 12000 m3 (80 percent) was piped to Kigali and 3000 m3 (20 percent) was distributed within Rwamagana District.

Expansion
In 2020 the government of Rwanda, through its subsidiary, Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC Limited), resolved to increase the processing capacity of this plant to 48000 m3 daily. The expansion involves:


 * Upgrading the raw water source
 * Construction of new raw water intake pumps
 * Upgrading the raw water intake pipes
 * Relocating the intake pumping station
 * Improving the capacity of the motors and pumps
 * Construction of new drinking water storage tanks
 * Expanding the drinking water transport and distribution network by laying 33 km of new distribution pipes.

Construction and funding
The cost of expansion is budgeted at $164.3 million. Construction financing is provided by the entities listed below:

Other considerations
The expanded plant is part of the plans by the Rwandan authorities to have 100 percent universal potable water supply by December 2024.