The Régie de Distribution d'Eau, abbreviated as REGIDESO, is a state-owned utility company located on Boulevard Du 30 Juin, in the Gombe commune of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Urban authorities in Boma, Matadi, Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), Coquilhatville (now Mbandaka), and Stanleyville (now Kisangani) were entrusted with operating, developing, and modernizing water distribution.

[6][7][9] This foundational decree was further augmented in 1939 by another royal edict, which instituted the Régie de Distribution d'Eau et d'Electricité du Congo Belge et Ruanda-Urundi (REGIDESO).

[10][11][12] The newly formed entity was conferred with legal personality, which allowed it greater autonomy in its management and expanding its operational remit to include both water and electricity distribution across the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi, with its headquarters located at Rue Marie de Bourgogne 30, Brussels.

[14] However, initially designed with a projected operational lifespan of approximately thirty years, these facilities soon revealed the first signs of infrastructural deficiencies, foreshadowing the challenges that would beset the company in subsequent decades.

Reports from the United States Department of Commerce in 1955 highlighted the disparity in electric power distribution across the Belgian Congo, with Équateur Province being notably under-served.

For instance, in the Bas-Congo region (present-day Kongo Central), the M'Pozo hydroelectric plant was integrated into REGIDESO's operations in 1948 to fulfill the energy requirements of Matadi, the principal maritime gateway of the Belgian Congo.

[15] Meanwhile, in other provinces, such as Kasaï and Kivu, REGIDESO continued to expand its operations, establishing new thermal and hydroelectric power plants to service the region's principal urban centers.

[14] A third station, erected on the Ndjili River at Kingabwa (Limete commune), was conceived to augment the aging first two, but financial constraints necessitated the project's phased completion, resulting in significant delays.

[14] Similarly, a third station, also planned for Ndjili with Japanese funding, was never realized due to the September 1991 lootings, which caused a shipment of equipment en route to Matadi to be diverted at sea.

[14] In North Kivu, REGIDESO received support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Service National d'Hydraulique Rurale (SNHR) to address severe water shortages exacerbated by the First and Second Congo Wars.

[19] SNHR's efforts primarily focused on rural areas like Rutshuru and Walikale territories, while REGIDESO worked to restore potable water services in urban centers like Goma.

[19] During Laurent-Désiré Kabila's presidency, approximately 80 percent of the national budget was allocated to the war effort, severely limiting investment in public services, including REGIDESO.

[29] However, financial challenges persisted, and in 2007, civil society groups in Kikwit vehemently opposed REGIDESO's decision to increase water tariffs, arguing that the burden of fuel costs for generator-powered standpipes disproportionately fell on the population.

[35] Meanwhile, in Gemena, the national deputy Minister of Energy oversaw the reactivation of REGIDESO's services after a decade of dysfunction, during which time the populace had relied on artesian wells.

[36] However, challenges persisted in locales like Kamina, where SNEL severed the electricity supply to REGIDESO's water pumping station over a payment dispute for a new circuit breaker.

[40] In October 2007, the European Development Fund (EDF) provided the DRC with water purification chemicals, in a donation worth over €137 million, including equipment for distribution networks.

[42] REGIDESO's acquisition of 40 cubic meters of diesel-powered generator in February 2008 supplied drinking water to the inhabitants of Mwene-Ditu in the Lomami Province three times a week.