Botswana gets P1.5bn loan for water security
Brian Benza | Tuesday March 7, 2017 18:00
The project was prepared in response to the 2015-2016 El Nino related drought, which was rated extremely severe - the worst in the last 34 years.
“The project will improve the availability of water supply in drought vulnerable areas, strengthen waste water management in selected systems and improve the operational efficiency of the Water Utilities Corporation,” said Paul Noumba Um, the World Bank Country Director.
In 2015, overall dam levels fell below 20% of their design capacity, and ground water sources in several water supply schemes dried up or became saline.
Despite the recent heavy rainfalls in Botswana and southern Africa, which saw Gaborone Dam filling up for the first time in 16 years, the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) says water restrictions will remain in place in the greater Gaborone area.
“While the recent rains have alleviated the dry conditions faced over the past three years, due to low recharge rates, groundwater levels will take several years to recover,” said Mukami Kariuki, World Bank Task Team Leader. “The project will also support the government’s ongoing efforts to integrate and manage surface and ground water resources more effectively.”
The first component of the project would look to mitigate the impact of the drought by improving availability of water in settlements that have experienced extended periods of rationing and or have been forced to rely on water bowsers.
The project also seeks to improve wastewater and sludge management to support strategic investments in refurbishment and rehabilitation of wastewater treatment facilities, to protect surface and groundwater sources, and enable scaling up wastewater reclamation and reuse in Francistown and Lobatse through design and build contracts.
Around 460,000 people in select settlements will benefit from augmentation or rehabilitation of existing water supply systems; and about 177,000 people will benefit from improved wastewater treatment and sludge management systems.
In addition, targeted measures to interlink, protect and secure surface and groundwater resource will be undertaken, and support for institutional strengthening and capacity development provided, in order to improve the efficiency of services and sustainability of water resources in Botswana.
While more than 95% of the population has access to improved drinking water sources, means to a piped water supply is uneven, ranging from 80% in Gaborone to 20–30% in some other urban centres; and only 42% of rural households have access to proper sanitation. In addition, the World Bank says some 33% of all water supply in Botswana is lost through the WUC distribution system.