Improving Water Supply and Quality, Mozambique | ARUP

Date
June 2018 – May 2020

Location
Ilha Josina Machel, Manhica, Mozambique

Client
Arup Aid

Business Sectors
Water Resources

Services (Technical Disciplines)

As part of the Arup Global Challenge initiative towards funding and supporting projects aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), we are working with the NGO ONGAWA Engineering for Human Development to increase the coverage of drinking water and sanitation in a rural area of the District of Manhiça in Mozambique, where overages are currently ones of the lowest in the world. The project will improve the current water and sanitation situation in the Administrative Post of Ilha Josina Machel (District of Manhiça) through the following 3 main lines of work considering all dimensions (accessibility, affordability, quality, availability and sustainability) of the facilities to be implemented and their adaptability to climate change:

1. Increasing water coverage from 41% to 100% by installing boreholes and pumps in the most vulnerable areas (SDG6.1 and 6.4)
2. Increasing improved sanitation coverage from 7% to at least 37% and hygiene promotion by financing the construction of latrines for the poorest families and creating a latrine catalogue helping local businesses to develop a latrine construction activity (SDG6.2 and 6a)
3. Improving sanitation and hygiene in the 6 schools of the Ilha Josina Administrative Area, assessing the current situation and rectifying the gaps to ensure the students have adequate services (ratio of less than 50 students per latrine) that are safe to use. Hygiene education will also be included. (SDG6.2)

In parallel, ONGAWA will work on strengthening the capacity of the District and local organisations in the management of water and sanitation services through their long-term collaboration with the Manhiça District as their local partner (SDG 6b).

Good results from previous projects have generated a common working relationship and trust with the District. Water and Sanitation Committees will be created to ensure sustainability of the services beyond the time of the project.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes

This project aims to contribute towards achieving the SDG6 goal for the 8,690 inhabitants of Ilha Josina (Manhiça District in Mozambique), where water and sanitation coverage is one of the lowest in the World (41% water coverage and 7% improved sanitation coverage with 25% of people not having any sanitation facilities suggesting a high open defecation rate, compared to worldwide average of 91% water coverage and 68% improved sanitation).

Our Role

A full scope of the Arup work is provided below. The project included a site visit by Arup Dublin Senior Hydrogeologist Gerry Baker in October 2018 to complete a baseline survey of the existing water supply wells in the district and compile available information on the regional hydrogeology.

Arup’s involvement will mostly be in the following activities:

• Climate change risk analysis and flood study
• Hydrogeology study – Baseline study and existing data analysis to select the most vulnerable zones in which boreholes and latrine construction should be focused on. Baseline study will also serve as a reference for measurement of project success after implementation of the project and its contribution to the SDG6 goal.
• Creation of a GIS database locating the facilities with up to date information (asset management).
• Research into Arup’s experience in boreholes and latrine design: although ONGAWA already has their own borehole and latrine design, we will research past Arup projects where these have been designed to investigate how ONGAWA’s designs can be improved and made more efficient.
• Design of boreholes and latrines adapted to climate change and hydrogeology condition and drawing preparation for construction. Creation of a latrine catalogue.

Geoscience Ireland Contact

Gerry Baker
EurGeol, PGeo, MSc, BA
Senior Hydrogeologist
Arup
Gerry.baker@arup.com