Enabling Kigali to be an African leader in sustainable water management

To pursue its ambitions in sustainability, the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali has put its trust in Diehl Metering technology to be part of the upgrade project of its network. WASAC recognized that AURIGA is the proper meter to achieve their main goal of reducing non revenue water via installing reliable meters, that can be their future benchmark for an AMR solution.

Rwanda  has one of the highest population densities in sub-Saharan Africa. The population of the  capital Kigali, is expected to increase from 1.1 million in 2012 to 3.8 million in 2050. This means WASAC is facing a massive rise in demand for water with an aging network  of pipes and meters, resulting in high NRW rates, low pressure, inflated energy costs, and significant water shortages.

Aware of the need for action, WASAC has set its sights high. It is aiming to become the most sustainable water and sanitation utility in Africa, with plans to enable universal access to safe water by 2024, in line with both Rwanda’s national strategy for transformation and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve this, the utility wants to reduce NRW rate from 44% to 25% by replacing degraded pipes and investing in efficiency measures with reliable and smart meters.

WASAC became interested in our AURIGA meter thanks to a reference project implemented in Rwanda in 2021 by our regional distributor, Danco Capital Limited. Earlier this year, the utility ordered 22,400 AURIGA DN20 meters to be installed around Kigali, with an additional 50,000 meters planned for the future.

As part of the pilot,  WASAC visited our production site in Saint-Louis (France) and got to know more about our radio and remote readings systems. By working closely together, we aim to help the utility tackle NRW and transition towards sustainable water management to meet its population’s future needs.