Background Information

ABOUT US

Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) is a Statutory Corporation established in 1947 and reconstituted by the Act of Parliament ‘Water Works Act’ No. 17 of 1995. As utility service provider, LWB is responsible for the provision of water supply services to the City of Lilongwe and surrounding areas designated as its supply area. LWB customers include domestic, institutional, industrial as well as commercial.

OUR MANDATE

LWB’s mandate is to manage the source of raw water, abstract and treat water in full compliance with regulatory bodies such as World Health Organization (WHO) and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS); and provide adequate and reliable water supply to the residents of the City of Lilongwe that meets customer needs.

GENERAL OPERATIONS

LWB’s operations and services help contribute to the national development by linking its Strategic Plan to such framework policy tools such as the Malawi Development and Growth Strategy (nationally) and the Sustainable Development Goals (globally).

Lilongwe Water Board was awarded jurisdiction to supply water to an area of about 45,000 hectares. The supply area is currently demarcated into three zones namely: Northern; Central; and Southern Zone.

The Board abstracts its raw water from Lilongwe River which originates from Dzalanyama Ranges. There are two dams constructed along the river; Kamuzu Dam I and Kamuzu Dam II. The catchment area is approximately 1,870 square Kilometers.

Kamuzu Dam I was constructed in 1966 and has a storage capacity of 4.5 million cubic meters, Kamuzu Dam II was constructed in 1989 with an initial storage capacity of 9.2 million cubic meters. The Dam was rehabilitated and raised in 1999 thus increasing the storage capacity to 19.8 million cubic meters. Kamuzu Dam I acts as a balancing reservoir and its outflow goes directly into Kamuzu Dam II. Water flows by gravity down to the abstraction point, about 20 km downstream.

The Board has two main Treatment Plants, TW I and TW II which are situated within the Water Works Campus, off Likuni Road in Area 3. The combined capacity of the two plants is about 125,000 cubic meters per day. Lilongwe City has a population of about 1.2 million and the Board currently serves around 83% of the population. There are about 83,000 metered customers and more than 1000 water Kiosks (communal water selling points) within the City.