The Lake Rukwa Water Basin was established in May, 2004 by the previous Water Utilization (Control and Regulation) Act no. 42 of 1974 and its subsequent amendments Act No. 10 of 1981, Act No. 17 of 1989 and Act No. 8 of 1997. The Basin is an entity of government under the Ministry responsible for water, mandated to manage (protect, develop and allocate) water resources within the basin as stipulated under Water Resources Management Act No. 11 of 2009.
Lake Rukwa Basin is a fairly large basin which comprises parts of the administrative regions of Mbeya, Rukwa, and small parts of Tabora. It is an internal drainage system comprising the lake with a surface area of 2,300 km2.