National Water Policy, 2002.

This Policy seeks to develop a comprehensive framework for sustainable development and management of Tanzania’s water resources, in which an effective legal and institutional framework for its implementation will be put in place. The Policy aims at ensuring that beneficiaries participate fully in planning, construction, operation, maintenance and management of community based domestic water supply schemes. This Policy seeks to address cross- sectoral interests in water, watershed management and integrated and participatory approaches for water resources planning, development and management. Also, the Policy lays a foundation for sustainable development and management of water resources in the changing roles of the Government from service provider to that of coordination, policy and guidelines formulation, and regulation. The Policy was prepared in a participatory manner involving water resources stakeholders in order to ensure comprehensiveness and acceptability.
The Policy contains three sections addressing three sub-sector issues namely: (i) Water Resources Management, (ii) Rural Water Supply, and (iii) Urban Water Supply and Sewerage. The Water Resources Management section provides a comprehensive framework for promoting optimal, sustainable and equitable development and use of water resources for the benefit of the present and the future generations. It takes into consideration the concerns of all water users. The Rural Water Supply section aims at improving health and alleviating poverty of the rural population through improved access to adequate and safe water. The Urban Water Supply and Sewerage section sets a framework for achieving an efficient development and management of the Urban Water Supply and Sewerage services. A plan for action detailing the implementation of policy strategies will be prepared and presented separately. Six types of instruments and other measures will be used in the implementation of the Policy: technical, administrative, economic, legal, regulatory and participatory instruments.
As for water resources management, the Policy deals, among other things with water supply for domestic purposes, industry, mining, fisheries, agriculture, forestry and the environment. It concerns also trans-boundary water resources, integrated water resources management, prioritization of water uses and disaster management. As for rural water supply, community participation is an important element.
An important element in rural water supply is community participation.