The main sources of water in Dar es Salaam are Lower Ruvu and Upper Ruvu plants
in Ruvu River, and Mtoni Plant on Kizinga River and ground water. The major problem
in Dar es Salaam is unaccounted for water and unreliable water sources. It is
estimated that 60% of water in Dar es Salaam is unaccounted for, out of which
30% is leaked.
Urban Water and Sewerage Authorities (UWSAs) run most of the urban water supplies
in Tanzania. However there is a lack of adequate water sources and resources
to develop water points in the country. Overall metering by the utilities is
below 30% thus giving more customers room to waste or misuse water. There are
high water losses which have a substantial effect on revenue collection and
economies of water supply. With a proper water-demand management programme,
aimed at reducing leakage, wastage and illegal connections, coverage could be
increased without large capital investments.