Dar es Salaam Faces Water Crisis: Residents Struggle to Quench Holiday Thirst
At first light in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city with around six million people, many residents start their day frantically looking for water. With Christmas coming up, the usual holiday cheer is dimmed by dry taps as severe water shortages drag on. In some homes, plastic jerrycans sit by the door ready to be filled whenever a nearby tap runs again. The city enforces rationing, giving most households water only once a week, and some families can wait far longer. The drought and rising demand have stretched supplies thin, pushing many people to buy water from private sellers who get it from boreholes or tanker trucks, but the high prices strain already tight budgets.
Cedric Ndosi, who lives in Madale, worries about hosting Christmas lunch because he has to buy water for cooking and bathing, something that used to be a luxury cost now turned necessity. In Tegeta, Furaha Awadhi says the price for 1,000 litres has jumped from $4 to $10. In Ubungo, Cedric Mushi says he stores water whenever the taps run, usually late at night, to avoid going without. Officials say the dry season since May has cut river and groundwater levels that the city depends on, and leaks in old pipes waste much of what little water there is.
Dar es Salaam’s rapid growth over the past 20 years has stretched infrastructure beyond its limits, with new suburbs often underserved even in better times. Some residents are planning to leave the city for cooler areas with more reliable water over the holidays. Unlike other major cities in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam has suffered more from the weak October–December rains; places like Dodoma cope better thanks to dams.
Although the city sits by the Indian Ocean, there is no desalination plant to turn sea water into drinking water, and about 70 % of drinking water comes from the river Ruvu, whose flow depends on rain inland. When the river drops, the effects are felt quickly, particularly in higher and newer parts of the city. The crisis hits families differently depending on their income, but many have adapted by staying up to catch the brief periods when water flows or by storing rainwater in containers. Small businesses like food stalls, salons, and car washes have cut hours or raised prices because of the shortages. Women are often seen searching for water for their households, and residents say lack of water affects hygiene, increases stress, and disrupts daily life. The government admits the problem is serious; Water Minister Juma Aweso told the BBC the city’s reliance on rainfall-fed rivers leaves it vulnerable and said a new dam and more boreholes are being developed to help in the long term. The Dar es Salaam Water and Sanitation Authority apologised to residents and urged everyone to save water, but critics want clearer rationing schedules and faster action on promised projects. Despite fears that shortages may recur, some like Ms. Fredrick are optimistic things will improve next year.
