Water boards in Malawi
Malawi has five water boards, each for its own area. Find yours, then open its guide to pay a bill, buy prepaid tokens, apply for a connection or report a burst pipe.
- 5 water boards
- New tariffs Aug 2026
- Free fault lines
Quick answer: Your water board depends on where you live: Lilongwe Water Board for Lilongwe city, Blantyre Water Board for Blantyre city, Central Region Water Board for other Central Region towns, Northern Region Water Board for Mzuzu and the north, and Southern Region Water Board for southern towns outside Blantyre. Four of the five have published new tariffs from August 2026.
One guide per water board
Each guide covers paying bills, buying tokens, new connections, faults and the 2026 tariffs, from the board’s own pages.
Which water board supplies me?
- Lilongwe city
- Lilongwe Water Board: call 253 free
- Blantyre city
- Blantyre Water Board: 5580 (TNM)
- Central Region towns
- Central Region Water Board: Dedza, Kasungu, Salima, Mponela and more; 1996
- Northern Region
- Northern Region Water Board: Mzuzu to Chitipa; 374 (TNM)
- Southern Region towns
- Southern Region Water Board: southern towns outside Blantyre city; 01 525 311
Report a burst pipe or no water
Save your board’s number. Most fault lines are free.
Southern Region Water Board
We have not built the SRWB guide yet: its website, srwb.mw, has been down since October 2026.
SRWB supplies urban and peri-urban areas of the Southern Region except Blantyre city. Until its site is back, its Facebook page carries supply interruption notices and updates for prepaid customers.
- Phone
- 01 525 311
- [email protected]
- Post
- Private Bag 72
Prepaid or postpaid?
Prepaid meter
You buy a token first (mobile money, a bank app, a board office or a vendor) and type it into the meter’s keypad. You need the meter number. No bill, no meter reading fee.
Postpaid meter
The board reads the meter and sends a bill. Pay it on time with the account number on the bill, or the board can disconnect the supply and charge a reconnection fee.
New connection
Apply at your board (some take applications online). The board visits the site, quotes the cost, and connects you after you pay the quotation and the meter deposit.
A token bought for the wrong meter number is hard to recover and costs a fee to replace, so check the number twice. Buying electricity too? See our ESCOM units guide.
Water boards FAQ
How many water boards are there in Malawi?
Five: Lilongwe Water Board, Blantyre Water Board, and the Central, Northern and Southern Region Water Boards.
Which water board covers Zomba, Mangochi or Liwonde?
The Southern Region Water Board, which supplies southern towns outside Blantyre city.
Did water tariffs go up in 2026?
Yes. Lilongwe, Blantyre, Central Region and Northern Region water boards all have new tariffs from August 2026; each guide lists its board’s rates. Southern Region Water Board’s rates were not online when we checked.
Is the Lilongwe Water Board the same as the Central Region Water Board?
No. LWB supplies Lilongwe city; CRWB supplies the other towns of the Central Region.
Sources: each board’s own website and notices, as cited in its guide; Southern Region Water Board details from its Facebook page (its website was down). Checked October 2026.
