For so long, there has been conspiracies about Ugandan tap water with many saying it’s not safe to drink without being boiled. However, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has encouraged Ugandans to drink it from the tap saying it’s safe.
This followed a query from an X user towards social media activist, Jim Spire Ssentongo. The X user wrote to Spire that “Spire, I was in Italy recently. We were encouraged to use tap water for drinking. Ask NWSC if it is okay to drink their water directly from the tap (not tank) in Uganda. Thanks”.
The National Water regulator chimed and said that its water conforms to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Therefore it’s safe to drink as it’s treated at the water source. They also monitor, sample and treat it along the transmission lines.
“Dear Mukulu Spire, NWSC water comforms to WHO, and the National Drinking water standards. We treat the water at the source, (at our plants) monitor, sample and treat it along the transmission mains (online dosing) and monitor the water at our reservoirs before destination.”
However they added that “Dear esteemed customers, we appreciate your concern. Kindly please note that it is safe to drink water from the tap at the meter point. Beyond that, we have no jurisdiction as per a customer’s internal plumbing.”
Despite this assurance, majority comments did not seem to trust that the water is safe at all. The country’s sewerage corporation is one that has faced numerous challenges over the years with many thinking that the water actually gets mixed with sewage.
Being that Lake Victoria is Uganda’s main water source especially the Central region, many people think that the hygiene at the lake is not safe for anyone to drink this water unboiled. And for long, unboiled water has been a common cause of diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, diarrhea among others. But since NWSC confirmed that the water is safe, you can give it a try and find out if this is true.
