The NRWB, with support from the European Investment Bank (EIB), implemented the Water Efficiency Project with the aim of increasing reliable water supply for Mzuzu city and Ekwendeni township. This component of the project involved construction of two intake weirs across the Lunyangwa River, one at the Mzuzu Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and the other at the Ekwendeni WTP. Initially, the existing weirs were temporary structures and were made of sandbags to intercept water that was then abstracted through pumping to the water treatment works. This resulted in the significant loss of water by passing around or under the weir. This necessitated the NRWB to construct the new intake weirs with reinforced concrete to enable increased water abstraction and increasing the supply capacity by about 95%. The total costs for implementing the Ekwendeni and Mzuzu weir projects were estimated at €165,000.00 and €65,000.00 respectively.

The NRWB hired a consultant to conduct an ESIA for the proposed project in 2018. Due to come challenges, the project was not implemented as the ESIA did not address some issues with other stakeholders. In 2021, NRWB hired Matex International to update the ESIA by addressing the issues that posed challenges on the implementation of the project.