Reform of the Urban Water & Sanitation Sector Programme (RUWASS)

In the context of the water and sanitation sector, the urban area or town is defined as one with more than 5,000 people. Areas with a population of between 5000 and 15,000 are referred to as small towns and their service supply is the responsibility of the Directorate of Water Development (DWD). Areas with a population of more than 15,000 people are referred to as large towns, and their service supply is the responsibility of the utility; National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC).
Ugandan partner institutions responsible for implementing reforms in the urban water sub-sector include:

Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE).

Directorate of Water Development (DWD).
Directorate of Water Resource Management (DWRM).
Department of Meteorology (DoM).

National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC).

Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Privatisation and Utility Sector Reform
Project).

Ministry of Local Government, through Urban Councils.

Association of Private Water Operators of Uganda (APWO).

The role of RUWASS is to provide technical assistance to the above institutions, mainly through long-term and short-term advisors, in-service training, subsidization, and provision of technical equipment.

RUWASS activities and services are organized around four main components, designed to focus on the main areas of sector reform, as agreed with the Ministry of Water and Environment and other sector stakeholders.