Dodoma Faces a 68 Million-Litre Daily Water Gap as Tanzania's Capital Grows

Tanzania's capital is growing faster than its water supply. The Dodoma Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority, known as Duwasa, says the city is short of about 68 million litres a day. Demand is about 159.9 million litres a day, while production is about 91 million, roughly 57 percent of what is needed. Some residents continue to receive water on a rotational schedule.

Duwasa points to population growth, expanding settlements, economic activity and the relocation of government functions to Dodoma. Before the relocation, production was 61.5 million litres a day against demand of 48 million, a comfortable margin. Demand has since outpaced every addition to supply, and it is projected to reach 180 million litres a day by 2030.

The authority is working on projects worth about Sh51 billion to lift output from 91 million to at least 121 million litres a day. The largest is the Government City scheme, at Sh35 billion, which includes borehole drilling, tanks and more than 60 kilometres of pipes. It is about 40 percent complete and is expected to add more than 10 million litres a day. Nzuguni Phase II, at Sh4.7 billion, will improve supply in several neighbourhoods and is also about 40 percent complete, with better access expected in six to seven months. The Zuzu-Miganga scheme is expected to add 12 to 15 million litres a day.

Beyond these, the government is working on the Farkwa Dam, which could supply at least 128 million litres a day once the necessary infrastructure is in place. A longer-term plan involves piping water from Lake Victoria via Singida. In the meantime Duwasa is drilling new boreholes as a short-term measure.

The report also shows the everyday side of the shortage. Duwasa says 103 water meters were stolen in the past three months, causing disruption and extra cost, and it has asked residents to protect water infrastructure. Its customer service director reported 12,336 complaints over the July-to-June period, most of them resolved, of which 177 concerned residents with no water at all, mainly in the areas with the most severe shortages.

For a fast-growing city the lesson is that water planning has to move at the speed of urban planning. Boreholes draw on groundwater that must be managed so it is not depleted, dams depend on rainfall that climate change is making less predictable, and pipelines are only as reliable as the people who maintain them and the communities who protect them. Reducing leakage and losses, metering fairly and protecting catchments are the quiet measures that stretch every litre produced.

The health stakes are plain. Intermittent supply pushes households towards storage, unsafe sources and time-consuming collection, which falls hardest on women and children. Closing the gap is therefore a matter of public health and equality as well as infrastructure.

Why it matters

A capital that supplies only 57 percent of its water demand is a warning for every fast-growing African city. Infrastructure investment has to be matched by groundwater protection, loss reduction and climate-resilient sources, or new supply will simply be absorbed by new demand.