Without water, people cannot survive. Without safe water, people cannot stay healthy. Unsafe water is associated with serious health conditions such as diarrheal diseases like cholera, guinea worm disease, typhoid, and dysentery which kill approximately 2000 children around the world every day.

To ensure that Rwandans have access to safe water, the Government of Rwanda put in place No002/RB/WAT-EWS/RURA/015 of 23/09/2015 Regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda.

Article 2 of the regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda says that drinking water should be "safe enough to be consumed by humans or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm.”

To make sure that water is safe enough for consumption, article four of the regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda says that water service providers should ensure that the water they supply is always of good quality.

This means that water service providers are not allowed to supply water from sources which have rain water unless it has been treated up to national standards for human consumption. All contaminants have to be eliminated. This is according to article 5 of the regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda.

After water has been treated, article 6 of the regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda says that water service providers must protect water; it has to be protected from contamination during storage, transportation and distribution.

Measures to prevent contamination are stipulated by article 8 of the regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda. One such measure is collecting samples at both the treatment plant and within the distribution network to ensure that water meets national standards, and reporting the results.

Consistency is an important aspect in the consumption of safe water. That is why article 20 of the regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda requires a water service provider to inform customers at least 48 hours before they do any work that requires interruption of water supply. The service provider has to state the reason for supply cut off and inform customers of an alternative source.

If a water service company fails to cover the demand for supply, or if there is serious effect on water supply, the company has to develop a fair rationing programme. This is according to article 21 of the regulation governing water supply services in Rwanda. Recipients of the rationing programme have to be informed 72 hours ahead of time in the most effective media channels.