Demand For Water Far Beyond Supply Capacity

Rapid growth in rural areas of Nimule since the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement has put a huge strain on its inadequate water and sanitation facilities

Less than 50 percent of residents in Nimule use improved water sources and only roughly 15 percent use sanitary means of waste disposal, according to the 2014 Eastern Equatoria State household health survey.

The demand for water in the county of Magwi and Nimule in particular which is the busiest region because of the border custom is far beyond the capacity of the rural water supply office, as the water and sanitation, hygiene officer for East African Ministry, a borehole drilling organization operating in the region, Ms. Jane Erio narrates.

“We are producing only 2800 cubic meters of water per day. Based on the recently conducted census at State level, we are supposed to be producing 30,000 to 35,000 cubic meters. We simply do not have the capacity to supply enough water.” says Mr. Cosmos Miiro, the General Manager of Water for South Sudan in Nimule.

While the water treatment plant was established far back in the 1960s by the Khartoum government to serve a population of approximately 4000, the number of residents has now mushroomed to over 700000 in Nimule town alone.

The shortfall is similar in neighboring Magwi, Kerepi, Pageri, Loa and Aruu where only about 4 percent of the populations of these respective villages have access to sanitary facilities.

One of the Acting Director of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation in the national Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mr. Longa Lino, said some of the areas in Magwi County and Nimule without access to clean water and sanitation is due to the remoteness thus making service delivery so hard.

“People are exposed to diseases like typhoid because they do not have access to basic hygiene and sanitation facilities like latrine, with many consuming the raw water of the Nile.” He added.

To mitigate the health threat posed by inadequate water and sanitation facilities, various development agencies like Save the Children, UNICEF are working on these services in Nimule.

So far, the United Nations agencies have set up over 200 water points, providing improved drinking water sources including water wells, wind mills and boreholes, and sought to educate people about hygiene.

“An estimated 700000 people have been reached with hygiene messages through radio, billboards and jingles,”said Longa.

TezaTezera, of the nongovernmental organization Water aid Africa in Nimule, noted that the organization spent over USD 100,000 on State water and sanitation programs last year.

“Water aid Africa drilled 8 boreholes, 10 public latrines and rehabilitated 20 functional water points. We also trained over 200 participants from Pageri and Loa Bomas.” She added.

Cosmos Miiro said that the town will soon have new public water plants funded and implemented by the USAID. “The new water treatment plant is expected to produce an additional 12000 cubic meters per day, bringing the total amount to 40000 cubic meters.” Cosmos added.

The work on the new water plant will cost an estimated $4 million, to begin early next year, with an expected completion of September next year.

Source: Gurtong

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