Project spotlight: Water

As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals draws closer, the international aid community is increasingly realizing that the fight against poverty can’t be won without safe drinking water for all. At the latest Sanitation and Water for All high-level meeting held in Washington D.C., 44 developing countries and their partners renewed their pledge to work toward universal access to clean water and toilets by 2030. Achieving universal access to safe drinking water is one of the greatest multifaceted development challenges confronting the world today, with 750 million people still suffering from water scarcity and insecurity. Here is a snapshot of some of the most significant donor-funded water projects currently underway. Producing safe drinking water with renewable energy, Djibouti (EuropeAid) Djibouti recurrently endures prolonged droughts, which are at the heart of its chronic water shortage and acute food crisis. In the capital city, Djibouti — where 75 percent of the country’s population lives — less than half of the current water demand is being supplied. To help address the country’s water shortage in a sustainable manner, the European Union is providing 40.5 million euros ($55.2 million) for a pioneering water desalination plant that will run on renewable energy, in line with Djibouti’s strategy to focus on achieving a green economy. Touted by development commissioner Andris Piebalgs as “a great example of how with smart aid we can create sustainable development,” the plant is expected to provide water to some 200,000 people, or one-fourth of the country's population. EuropeAid is currently soliciting proposals for supervision and monitoring services of the ongoing works. Improving sanitation through flood reduction, Cameroon (AFD, AfDB, GEF) Traversed by the Mfoundi River, Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé is disrupted by several major floods each year due to inadequate drainage. Though funding for water and sanitation has been sporadic since the contested 1992 elections, the sector has recently started to regain the trust of development partners. In 2013, the French Development Agency and the Global Environment Facility joined forces with the African Development Bank to help the Cameroonian government fund the cost of the second phase of the Yaoundé Sanitation Project, estimated at $155 million. Building on the success of the first phase, which reduced the number of floods from 15 to three per year, the second phase will further develop the canal of the Mfoundi River, thus improving the living conditions of 1.8 million people, or about 75 percent of Yaoundé’s inhabitants. Investing big in water infrastructure development, Ethiopia (World Bank) Ethiopia has a history of low investment in infrastructure, but all indicators point to significant improvements in water supply coverage, with the country being well on track to reach the MDG target on access to safe drinking water. To sustain the steady progress the Ethiopian government has been making, the World Bank approved a $205 million credit line in March to increase access to and improve quality of infrastructure services. The project’s works — which include the construction of about 6,300 rural water schemes, and rehabilitation and expansion of water supply systems for about 70 towns — will connect approximately 2 million of the poorest to the formal water supply system. Building capacity to ensure sustainable water services, Ghana (Conrad N. Hilton Foundation) Ghana’s water and sanitation sector has a well-established institutional and legal setup, but more emphasis needs to be put on developing and sustaining service delivery. To this end, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation awarded $3 million to the IRC International Water and Sanitation Center — a Dutch-based think-and-do tank — to bring to scale an innovative and sustainable solution to delivering clean water. IRC’s approach focuses on strengthening the ability of governments to deliver and maintain water services through district-level coordination and water investment planning. This is in contrast with more conventional charity-based solutions that primarily focus on technical fixes and the installation of hardware. Over the next three years, the project is expected to ensure that 1.3 million people in 13 rural districts have access to lasting water services. Increasing water distribution through urban-rural integration, China (Asian Development Bank) Throughout China, mass migration to cities has made the provision of clean water particularly challenging. An estimated 100 million people in urban areas do not have water piped into their homes, and a significant amount of treated water is lost and contaminated during distribution due to old and decrepit pipes. This prompted the Asian Development Bank to sign a $200 million loan with private water supplier China Water Affairs Group Ltd. aimed at providing semi-urban and rural households with new or better connections to tap water. By leveraging the company’s existing water supply projects as bases from which to expand, the deal will enable the ADB to fund multiple water supply projects that are often too small and expensive for international banks to finance on a stand-alone basis. By 2015, the project is expected benefit at least 5 million people in targeted cities. Enhancing water resources with desalination technologies, Cape Verde (JICA) Limited rainfall, volcanic landscapes and scarce surface and underground reservoirs leave Cape Verde no choice but to search for alternative sources of water. Desalination of seawater, already used to meet 85 percent of its water needs, is thus a priority for the island nation. This has led the Japan International Cooperation Agency to provide Cape Verde with a loan of $150 million to support its efforts to enhance available resources and desalination technologies. Funds will be allocated to the construction of energy-saving desalination facilities and installation of high-pressure water transmission facilities — areas where Japan has strong technical capabilities. Upon completion in 2019, this project will provide 123,000 people with a stable supply of safe drinking water. Strengthening water utilities for better water supply, Haiti (IDB) In Haiti, despite levels of water and sanitation coverage being among the lowest in the Americas, many development organizations have scaled down their operations. However, two of Haiti’s leading donors for water and sanitation — the Inter-American Development Bank and Spain — are currently financing $180 million worth of projects in the sector. Most recently, IDB announced a $35.5 million grant to expand and improve water services in Port-au-Prince. Through a team of seasoned experts from international water companies, the project aims to continue strengthening the technical, financial and commercial operations of the water utility in the city’s metropolitan region. Specific goals include implementing a master plan of investments to expand coverage, improving revenue, as well as reducing losses caused by leaks, clandestine connections and unpaid bills. Did any other water projects catch your attention recently? 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