This working paper reviews the firstdecade (2001-11) of Uganda's pioneering private sectorparticipation (PSP) model for small town water supply. Thenumber of towns under the PSP model has steadily risen fromonly 15 in 2001-02 to over 90 in 2010-11 with a combinedpopulation of over 1.5 million. In evaluating the impact ofthis development, this working paper aims to guide furtherreform within Uganda, and to inform other countriesconsidering similar PSP approaches. The core idea behind PSPcentered reform in Uganda was to improve sustainability andefficiency of piped networks in small towns by hiringprivate operators (POs) for their commercial management.Driven by a profit motive, POs were expected to maximizerevenue, minimize waste and maintain and expand networks ina sustainable manner. To guard social objectives,infrastructure remained under government ownership and theintroduction of POs was accompanied by a complex regulation,as well as support, framework.