Full text can be accessed at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02508069108686093The bacteriological, chemical and physical analyses of water samples from rainwater cistern system at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania were carried out between October 1988 and December 1989. Faecal coliforms, total coliforms and faecal streptococci were enumerated. The results shows that 86% of the samples were free from faecal coliforms. However, faecal streptococci were obtained in 53% of the samples and 45% of the samples tested for total coliforms were positive. The physical quality of water was found to be appealing during the whole study period with turbidity less than 5 NTU and colour less than 5 mg Pt/l. However, about 54% of the consumers raised objections over the taste of water.