Lusaka Water Trusts

Supported via our strategic partnership with WSUP.

In Lusaka, community-based organisations are responsible for managing water and sanitation services in peri-urban areas. These organisations, often called Water Trusts, deliver services on behalf of the citywide utility, Lusaka Water & Sewerage Company.

In the peri-urban areas of Kanyama and Chazanga, WSUP has supported the Water Trusts to pilot pit-emptying services and septage treatment plants—testing the feasibility of developing financially viable on-site sanitation services.

The pilot has informed the development of the Lusaka Sanitation Plan, in which on-site sanitation services will be scaled up across the city by LWSC.

This work is part of a broader WSUP programme of working with Water Trusts in Lusaka to extend services, providing support on: business management, testing new business models, customer marketing, and improvements to infrastructure.

Because of this support, water access has been improved through communal water kiosks, pre-paid dispensers and public standpipes, and improved water management through reduction of leaks and improved billing.

In addition to improving the quality of services to low-income communities, WSUP has also helped Water Trusts to strengthen their own financial sustainability.