Dar es Salaam — In the nine months since she moved to the Dar es Salaam neighbourhood of Kinondoni, Anna Christopher has only seen water running from her taps once.

Christopher, who works as a public servant, says finding water is a burden in this low-income area of Tanzania's financial capital.

Like the majority of residents of Dar es Salaam, she has to buy water by the gallon from street vendors every day, paying 250 to 300 Tanzania shillings - equivalent to 18 to 22 U.S. cents - for each 20-litre container. And that's on the days when water is available in the city at large; when there are shortages - and this happens frequently - prices shoot up to 500 Tshs per gallon.

"This has made it even harder for me, as I have to spend about 4000 Tshs ($3) a week on water only," Christopher laments. With a gross income equivalent to 115 U.S. dollars a month and a long list of other bills to pay, she finds it a burden. Most Tanzanians must make ends meet on less than a third of here income: the United Nations Development Programme estimates average annual per capita income in the country as a whole is $390.

Unlike in rural areas, where women and girls go long distances to fetch water, here in the city it's vendors who take it to each doorstep, either by handcarts or tankers. This indirectly provides employment for a fair number of people. Juma Jabu says he can make between 7 and 11 dollars a day selling water, depending on demand.

Upscale areas have problems of their own

In other parts of the city, like the middle-class area of Tabata Kimanga, residents usually get pipe-borne water once a week. This area is located on relatively high ground, which makes it difficult for the aging pumps to supply it with water from the Upper Ruvu treatment plant.

Many in Tabata Kimanga rely on water from shallow wells, mainly dug by independent companies, but this water is salty and unfit for consumption. There is fresh water deep below the ground, but it can only be tapped by heavy duty pumps.

Residents of this area say groundwater resources are not safe, because of the many pit latrines in the area, which may contaminate underground water and cause diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery. The concern with water quality extends to other areas of the city, since buyers don't know where a street vendor has obtained the water being sold.

Surprisingly, there are places in the same city where water shortage is like new vocabulary in an old dictionary. Areas like Masaki, Sinza, Victoria and Mwenge, have long enjoyed running water all year round. But in recent years, water cutoffs have reached even these affluent neighbourhoods.

Technical challenges

But if Dar es Salaam is one, then why is there such disparity in the distribution of this valuable resource? The answer is based on several factors; the Ruvu river, the geographical make-up of the city, and its unprecedented population increase.

Dar es Salaam obtains most of its water through two water supply plants on the Ruvu River; another smaller plant operates from Mtoni Kizinga, a stream that, like the Ruvu, flows into the Indian Ocean.

The Upper Ruvu treatment plant started operations in 1959 and has a capacity of 82,000 cubic metres per day. The Lower Ruvu plant, built in 1976, produces 182,000 cubic metres and the Mtoni Kizinga plant, which has been in operation since 1947, has an output of 9,000 cubic metres.

But the city's estimated four million people require about 450,000 cubic metres of water a day. Even with the boreholes that have more recently been drilled in various parts of the city contributing an additional 27,000 cubic metres, the city is producing only two-thirds of the water it needs.

"Technically speaking, these plants are overwhelmed. The city needs more water than what the plants were initially set to produce", says Jackson Midala, Chief Operations Officer for Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Company (DAWASCO).

He says earlier on, the whole city depended on the Upper Ruvu plant but this changed as Dar es Salaam grew. When Lower Ruvu was established it was expected to cover the needs of about 70 per cent of the city. Prosperous, newly-established such as Bunju, Tegeta, Kawe, Mbezi Beach, Mwenge and Sinza are all serviced by Lower Ruvu.

"Since elevation plays a big role in the distribution process, areas that are at sea level and closer to the plants tend to get more water than those which are elevated and further away," points out Midala.

The problems are clearly demonstrated in several areas, like Kimara, 135 metres above sea-level, which was connected to the Lower Ruvu plant when it came online, but which doesn't receive water.

The pumps that would allow the system to function as intended badly need to be replaced - the newest ones were installed in the Lower Ruvu plant in 1975, and water authorities frequently announce that there will be no water due to maintenance.

Nelly Mtema, who works for the Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority insists all the pumps have been completely repaired. - DAWASA owns and maintains distribution infrastructure, while its fellow government parastatal DAWASCO is in charge of distribution operations: metering, billing, collections and cut-offs.

DAWASCO'S Midala ducks the question of faulty infrastructure, instead pointing to the construction of large, affluent residential areas as having increased water consumption beyond what the system can supply, thus depriving other parts of the city.

"In order to make sure that at least everybody who has a pipe service gets water, rationing is necessary," explains Midala.

Upgrading infrastructure

But Nelly Msuya, a DAWASA spokesperson, is more forthright. "It is true that there is a great challenge in the provision of water services in the city through our infrastructure."

In response to this challenge, DAWASA has developed a water supply improvement plan. The water utility plans to develop the underground aquifers in two phases. In the first phase, beginning in September, 20 deep wells will be drilled, producing 260,000 cubic metres a day.

In March 2010, construction will being on an expansion of the Lower Ruvu treatment plant, to significantly increase output to 270,000 cubic meters of water per day. The Upper Ruvu is also slated for expansion, up from 82,000 to 140,000 cubic meters per day.

Measures will also be taken to safeguard the water levels of the Ruvu River, explains Msuya. "To make sure that the supply of water on Ruvu is checked properly, plans are underway to construct a dam at Kidunda area in the Coast region where the river flows."

According to her, short listed firms submitted their proposals on July 21, 2009 which are currently being reviewed. A nine-month feasibility study is expected to start in September 2009.

A thirsty city awaits.