CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Ely Ould Abdellah, Mauritania, June 1999
THEME = ECOLOGY
How to supply water to a city in the middle of the desert?
Projects are afoot to fulfil such a dream
Ever since Nouakchott was chosen to be the nation's capital, there's always been some kind of acute problem about supplying the city with drinking water. The small bore hole which provides an even smaller quantity of drinking water, was never sufficient to cater for the needs of the nomads, travelling through the city towards the pasture lands in the south and the north of Mauritania. Nouakchott lies in the heart of a desert and amidst the coastal sand dunes. Even before Nouakchott became a capital, there were always problems concerning an adequate water supply.
So, what to do? The first solution proposed was to build a desalination plant. However, no sooner completed, it was found to be insufficient for an ever-expanding city and the increasing needs of the population. Also, the running costs were prohibitive.
An alternative supply was found in Idini, situated 60 km east of Nouakchott. The water comes from an artesian well and is pumped to Nouakchott through two pipelines of about 700mm in diameter.
As time went on, the number of bore holes in Idini had to be increased to 28. To do this, a high voltage electric line was needed, plus sophisticated and expensive water pumps. In spite of all these efforts, the water problem still exists especially at periods of severe heat. And the prices! The National Water and Electricity Company (SONELEC) has fixed its prices as follows: A barrel of 200 litres at the water source itself costs 20 Ouguiya, but in water distribution centres it can go as high as 500 Ouguiya for the same amount!
Things have been getting better over the last few years, but there's still a problem with supplying water for Nouakchott. More and more households and businesses want to be connected to the mains' supply; an increasing number of people are experiencing a fall in water pressure or quite simply there's no tap water! What's the reason for this? The city's population is growing all the time and industry is demanding more water. So the government is scratching its head for new ideas.
Now the government and the authorities concerned have come up with the solution of supplying Nouakchott and its surrounding areas with water from the River Senegal.
First of all, the intention was to fill up the natural depression of Aftout Sahli with water from the River Senegal to provide water for industrial use (agriculture, fish farming). Nouakchott's water supply was only a secondary plan. Now this secondary plan seems to overtake all others - at least in the proposed calendar.
That's why in March 1999, a business group from France, a firm from Kuweit and the Mauritanian AFRECOM Company launched a study of how to supply water to Nouakchott from the river. This study project has to be carried out in 18 months. It has two phases:
The First Phase:
undertaking a feasibility study to define the different options in order to choose the best solution for the problem;
Second Phase (A study concerning the economic viability of the project):
The project consists in digging an open canal from the level of the already existing pumping station on the right side of the River Senegal, plus the construction of a purifying station. Then it will be possible to work out the best possible means of taking the water to Nouakchott. SONELEC will carry out the project and, they told us that this will not interfere with the existing project of filling up the Aftout Sahli depression with water from the River Senegal, a project dear to the population. SONOLEC also built the pumping station and says Mauritania will be allowed to pump water from the existing construction, without having to get permission from the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS).
If this project is realised, it will solve the problem of supplying water to Nouakchott and the regions along Aftout, as well as conserving water (that could run dry) from the Idini wells. Even if Idini has water enough to last the next few generations, we have to conserve this underground source. Far better to use the river water which discharges millions of gallons each year into the Atlantic Ocean.
It's a good solution, especially as it doesn't effect the current project for filling up the Aftout Sahli depression with water from the River Senegal. This project which has already been the subject of several studies, includes a technique for purifying the water into drinking water.
These two projects which complement each other, are an old dream. And here we are, one will soon see the light of day, and perhaps the second will too, and with important effects - controlling the advance of the sand-dunes and regenerating the natural habitat. In a word, creating a green belt with water from the south.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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