Busia Residents Survive on Water Contaminated With Pupu

Thousands of people in Busia district are drinking water contaminated with fecal matter and other pollutants.

Peter Nabulya, the Health Inspector Busia Municipality, says majority of residents depend on water from shadoofs, 80 percent of which are contaminated.

Sarah Akwi, the Manager National Water and Sewerage Corporation, says they only cover 40 percent of the municipality.

The water coverage covers 109 out of the more than 500 villages in the municipality and according to Akwi, they are currently working to stabilize the water supply before they expand their network.

In July last year, Busia municipality embarked on plans to establish a water plant at Majanji landing site, about 27 kilometers away in collaboration with the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, a project yet to materialize.

This has however put the lives of many people in Busia at risk of contracting waterborne diseases like cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery among others.